Hollowfication
by Akatsuki Leader13
Summary: AU Aizen creates 3 new arrancars that not even Ichigo can beat. Arrancar made from three of his closest friends. Can they be saved or will they destory all that they once cared about? The Rewrite is up!
1. Chapter 1

Yo everybody. Chapter one reedited and posted. Yes, I know I be working on chapters five and six, but I'm currently suffering from writer's block. So instead I worked on this.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach though you all know that already.

Note: This is my first story so be kind with the reviews. Also I know this isn't an original idea, I just loved the stories where some of Ichigo's human friends are turned into arrancars. So decided to write my own.

This chapter takes place during the night Ichigo's father, Isshin, killed the Grand Fisher.

**Hollowfication**

Chapter One

She awoke only find she couldn't move, see or even hear what was going on around her. The only thing she could was think about how she got here, trapped in a black void. Her parents had just left for the airport. An hour ago they receive a phone call from Paris. Her aunt and uncle living there died in a car crash. She decided to stay rather then go to Paris for a couple weeks for the funeral. Looking back on it she probably should have gone with them instead of staying.

But there was no way she could have known what was going to happen after her parents left.

She had been about to call Orihime and tell her what happened, when there was a knock at the door.

_Flashback_

"_Tatsuki Arisawa?" the grinning man at the door asked in a lazy but polite tone._

_Tatsuki stared at the pale, white-haired man at the door. His clothing was unusual, but similar to something she saw before. In fact, earlier today she saw Ichigo wearing a similar black outfit. But unlike Ichigo, this man wore a white robe over it with a sword hilt sticking out of the opening of the robe. But it was his presence that unnerved her the most. It felt like snakes were wrapping around her throat by just standing near him._

_Tatsuki calmly answered, "Yes. What do you want?"_

"_I'm gonna need ya to come with me."_

_Her response was simple and blunt. "No way in hell am I going anywhere with a grinning creep like you."_

_The second she said that she tried to slam the door in his face._

_Only to have him stop the door halfway with a single finger, causing the shocked teenage girl to back away from the door, struggling to keep her growing fear from showing._

_'Impossible. No one could do that. What is he?'_

_The man let out an amused chuckle and said, "My my, is that yer decision?"_

_Just barely keeping the fear out her voice, she said, "Yes. Now leave."_

_The man sighed, but the grin never left his face, "Guess we're gonna have to do things the hard way."_

_He unsheathed his short sword and pointed it at her and said, "Shoot to kill Shinso."_

_The blade of the sword extended towards her at a speed Tatsuki could barely register. It impaled her through her left shoulder and embedded itself in the wall behind her._

_Tatsuki screamed in pain, hoping that someone would hear her and save her from this man, as she struggled to stay standing._

"_My my, yer a tough one. Changed yer mind?" the man asked in the same lazy but polite tone._

_Fighting back the pain, Tatsuki simply replied, "Go to Hell."_

_The man let go of the hilt of his sword, which came racing at Tatsuki at same insane speed as the blade, slamming and pinning her to the wall._

_Her head was spinning, her vision was blurring and she could feel blood pouring down the back of her head. Then the man somehow appeared right in front of her. Tatsuki took her chance and punched the pale man's face with her right fist._

_Or at least thats she thought would happen. But with speed that she couldn't even register, he grab her wrist with his thumb and forefinger, stopping the punch halfway._

_Before Tatsuki could react to the blocked punch, the man raised his other arm and chopped her forearm, breaking it._

_Tatsuki howled in pain again. She abandoned all attempts at covering how afraid she was. She didn't care anymore, she just to get away from him._

_He raised his arm again and said, "Wow. Yer a tough little thing, aren't ya."_

_He brought his hand down, striking her head and darkness consumed her._

_End of flashblack_

Then she woke up in this black void. Someone must have healed her as her injuries no longer hurt. Either that or she could no longer feel in addition to no longer being able to see and hear in this void.

_'How long have I been trapped here? Where is here for that matter? And why am I where?'_

Her thoughts grew increasing frantic as time went on. Of course she could no longer tell how much time had passed since she woke up. How long had she been trapped where for? Minutes, hours, days or worst, had it only been a few seconds since she woke up?

She felt helpless and weak. She hated that feeling. She hadn't felt like this since the day she failed to protect Orihime a second time. When she and Orihime were attacked by that monster that took control of her body and tried to use her to hurt Orihime.

_'The day Orihime protected me. The day Orihime no longer needed me. The day—NO! I have to stop thinking those thoughts.'_

Ever since that day, her mind had been plague by such thoughts and feelings. At first it only happened just a few times, but then Orihime, Ichigo and Chad left at the beginning of summer holidays and thoughts increased in frequency and intensity.

She hated having those thoughts. They felt like a betrayal of her friends but at the same time, a small part of her felt justified in thinking those thoughts. That they had abandoned and betrayed her first.

These thoughts continued to fill her head for length of time that she couldn't even guess at. Until the void that blocked out her senses was suddenly lifted, interrupting her train of thoughts as her senses rushed back to her, putting her in a temporary daze. In fact she didn't even realize that the person who dropped the shroud, walked out of the room.

When the daze cleared, Tatsuki realized that she still couldn't move her body. She found herself kneeing on the ground with her arms held behind her back by an invisible force. She tried to break out what ever was holding her with no luck. She found she could only move head a little to the left and right but the rest of her body was frozen.

Tatsuki looked around the room (or rather at the area in front her). It was a massive throne room. Maybe it belonged to that fox-faced that attacked her and brought her here.

_'Why did he bring me here anyway?'_

She then heard footsteps echoing behind her.

"As ya can see Aizen-sama, the girl is awake and ready for the next part." a familiar voice called out from behind her.

_'Fox-face!'_

"Indeed. I didn't expect her to wake up so soon after you injured her, Gin." said a second, more commanding voice from behind her. "Just as Tosen returned with the other two no less. I have to say I'm slightly impressed."

The first voice, Gin, chuckled and replied, "She's a tough and stubborn one, just like Kurosaki."

"Yes. But at the moment, she is no where near Kurosaki's level." the second man, this Aizen, commented.

There was no doubt in Tatsuki's mind who he was talking about, Ichigo Kurosaki.

_'How do they know Ichigo? And what do they want with me?'_

The footsteps grew louder as the familiar sensation of snakes wrapping around her neck returned. She would have shuttered but the force holding her would not permit it.

The two men walked passed Tatsuki's frozen body and stood in front of her.

At first glance, the brown-haired man named Aizen didn't look like much out of the ordinary. His slicked back hair, facial features and clothing reminded her of ancient Japanese nobility. His presence unlike Gin's, didn't affect her in any way what so ever. She felt safer around him then around Gin.

But then she looked into his eyes and realized how wrong she was.

Its said that the eyes are the window to the soul. Tatsuki didn't know if that was true, but in the case of this man it was. His eyes held a cunning malevolence, devoid of any emotion or warmth. The eyes of a person that cared nothing for anyone and everyone, save how they could benefit himself.

Then Aizen began to look back at her, really looking at her. That something more terrifying then everything that happened to her earlier. It felt like wasn't looking at her but rather looking right through her and viewing all her memories, dreams, nightmares, fears, insecurities, everything that made up the person known as Tatsuki Arisawa.

She found it became increasing harder to breathe as he continued to stare at her. Tatsuki wanted to scream, to run, to do anything to get away from this man's horrible gaze but couldn't even think under his stare.

Gin laughed and said, "Careful Aizen-sama or yer gonna kill her prematurely."

Then as suddenly as it began, it ended. She felt bile rising up her throat. She would have collapsed and thrown up if it wasn't for the fact that her body, mouth included, was still frozen. So the contents of her stomach stayed in her mouth for a moment before sliding back down her throat. She sat there, trying to regain her breath while continuing to stare at Aizen and Gin, her eyes wide with fear.

She suddenly felt a presence appeared behind her and placed something on the ground to the left of her. She couldn't see who or what it was, but figured that it was the other two that Aizen mentioned.

A dark-skinned man entered her limited range of vision as he walked towards Aizen and Gin. He bowed his head at Aizen before walking to Aizen's right side, opposite Gin.

Aizen stared to the left of Tatsuki for a moment before a grin spread across face. "Tatsuki Arisawa, Mizuiro Kojima, Keigo Asano, I imagine you are all wondering why I had the three of you brought here."

_'Mizuiro and Keigo? What the hell is going on here?'_

"My name is Sosuke Aizen, and these are my lieutenants, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen. You have been brought here because I see much potential in the three of you and I have seen how those you call friends have neglected and abandoned you because you currently lack the power they possess. They think you are too weak to be anything but a burden if they told you the truth about the powers that they received and about the world you live in. I however, see your potential and hate to see wasted potential."

Aizen paused for a minute to let what he said settle in the three teenagers for a moment before continuing,

"I am going to make all of you more powerful then you could ever imagine. In fact, I will train you for one month, it will be brutal though and it is possible that all three of you will die. If you survive the month, then offer you a choice about whether you join my army or return to the world of the living. No strings attached."

Tatsuki knew she couldn't trust what this man was saying but at the same time a part of her want that power he spoke of, she didn't want to be weak ever again.

"Well now that that's out of the way, lets get started." Aizen took a step forward before adding, "Oh, I almost forgot that this will be quite painful, but just think of it as the price of power."

Tatsuki definitely didn't like that. She tried again to break her bonds again and yet again couldn't free herself.

Gin suddenly appeared in front of her, just like he did after he impaled her to the wall. Gin lifted her one handed by her shoulder. She then felt a foreign energy enter her body from his hand. Then the pain came. It felt like something deep inside her was being forced open, something that she could feel shouldn't be forced opened like that. The pain kept on growing and growing.

Then thankfully, it ended. But soon as it ended, Gin thrust his other palm into Tatsuki's face. Sending her flying across the room.

She noticed two things immediately, first she was no longer bound by the invisible force. Secondly, the air felt oddly thick and heavy like being in a pool of molasses.

She looked to her left and saw that indeed Mizurio and Keigo had be kidnapped as well. The two boys were sprawled on the floor. They looked just as confused and terrified as she felt. But then she noticed strange. There were chains attached to metal plates on their chests. She followed the chains to their source, a second Mizuiro and Keigo, hanging limply in the hands of Aizen and the one called Tosen.

_'What?'_

She then looked down at her own chest and saw an identical plate and chain attached to her chest. She followed her chain to its source. Just like with Keigo and Mizuiro, hers was connected to a second her, still being held in Gin's hand.

_'This can't be real. This is gotta be somekind of bad dream.'_

Aizen turned to Gin and said, "Would you do the honors Gin."

Gin chuckled and pulled out his sword, "Shoot to kill Shinso."

His blade shot out and impaled the metal disc in chest. The disc shattered, leaving a hole in her chest. Her only thought was, _'NO!!'_

Then the greatest pain she ever felt tore through her body and she did the only thing she could, she screamed. So great was the pain that she didn't hear Gin repeat his command or the two other screams that filled the air.

Tatsuki's body painfully tore itself apart and reshaped itself in a larger, less human form. Once her body was finished transforming, a white liquid poured out of her eyes, ears, nose and mouth. It covered her head, formed and hardened into a monstrous mask.

She found herself once again in the dark void. But this time she found herself forgetting all of her good memories. She tried to hold onto the memories one a time, focusing on the first one that came to mind.

_She and Orihime were having dinner at Orihime's apartment. Orihime was talking about all of the strange food combinations that she love so much, while she was attempting to suppress the urge to laugh and gag at the at the strange combinations. All the while, she couldn't help but wonder how Orihime could eat such things._

But as quickly as she grabbed the memory, it slid away like water in her hands. Only to be replaced with a horrible memory.

_A sudden tremor shook the room, knocking several things off a nearby shelf, including an old teddy bear that Orihime's late brother gave her when she was little. Orihime walked over to the fallen objects and picked up the bear. Suddenly, an invisible force attacked Orihime, sending her flying half way across the room. Tatsuki rushed to her fallen friend, trying fruitlessly to wake her. Until the same force attacked her. The force hit her again and again and then the force started to smother her. Tatsuki fought to stay conscious. She had to save Orihime. But it was in vain as she passed out anyway._

Tatsuki mentally screamed. She discarded the bad memory and frantically grabbed onto another memory.

_She was with Orihime and the rest of her friends, under the shade of some trees, eating lunch. They talked and laughed while she warded off Chizuru attempts to seduce Orihime._

But just as before, the memory disappeared and replaced with a horrible one.

_She was trying to protect to protect Orihime from a monster and a horde of students that were being controled by the monster. She watched as she was beaten, then her body taken over by the monster and was forced to beat up the girl was trying to protect._

Then it hit her, she couldn't remember the girl's name, or the names of her other friends. Names she had known a second before. She could only remember their faces but they too began to fade away into the darkness. Leaving her alone and afraid. Leaving only one thing besides all of her worst memories. Her name. Tatsuki Arisawa.

Tatsuki said her name repeatedly, clinging to it like it was a life preserver.

Until the darkness finally consumed her.

A trio of mournful roars filled the room and at that moment the humans known as Tatsuki Arisawa, Mizuiro Kojima, and Keigo Asano ceased to exist as three new hollows came into existence.

Aizen still smirking, said "Time for the next step."

* * *

She opened her eyes for what seemed like the first time. She looked at herself. Her body was large and muscular, covered in black skin with crimson spirals going across her body and limbs and a round hole in her chest. She stood on two arms and legs. Her arms and hands were human, save her fingers ended in crimson claws. Her legs however were similar to the hind legs of a dog or wolf and also were tipped with the same crimson claws. Her legs also prevented her from standing upright. She had a long scorpion tail at the base of her spine. Their was a long, wild black mane flowed from her head. There was something else on her face, something hard. She raised a hand to her face. There was a mask on her face, what it looked like she couldn't tell.

She was confused. It felt like this wasn't what she should have looked like. Yet she had no memory of anything before opening her eyes. So why did she feel like she had a different form then this? And who and what was she?

The questions plaguing her mind were quickly pushed aside as she felt a growing hunger inside her. What was she hungry for? She didn't know.

She looked around her surroundings. She was in a vast cavern, with a thin purple mist floating just above the floor.

She wasn't alone though. There were two other creatures with her. Both had holes in their chests and white masks on their faces. The closest one was slightly smaller then her. It was extremely thin, slightly hunched over, human-like creature. Like it's body was only skin stretched over abnormally long bones. The skin itself was was dark purple. It's arms and legs were long, longer then the ordinary limbs of a human. The fingers and toes of the creature were tipped with curved, hook-like green talons and matching spikes coming out of it's spine. The mask it wore was shaped like a skull, with razor sharp teeth and two large glowing eyes and three smaller eyes in an inverted triangular formation on the mask's forehead. Wild, short black hair came out from the back of it's mask. Every time it exhaled, a green mist came put of it's mouth.

The other creature was a giant winged snake, in fact it was larger then her. It's scales were bright red with five dark blue stripes running down it's body and it's tail was tipped with a rattle like the ones rattlesnakes had. It had a pair of dark blue feathered wings, the same dark blue as it's scales. It's hole was located in between it's wings. The mask looked like someone took a four-sided star and pulled it over a snake's face, giving it an angular snake head look. The mask had a dark blue line running from the left point to right point and a bright red line from the top point to the bottom point. There was also two pairs of long fangs among the upper row of teeth on the mask.

There was something familiar about those two creatures. It was like she knew them somehow. But how or where, she didn't know.

"Who are you? Do you know who I am?" she asked.

The two looked at her then each other. The smaller one, in a rasping voice, responded, "I don't know. I was hoping one you could tell me who I am."

"Likewise." The snake said, "Are you guys hungry like me?"

She and the thin one nodded.

Suddenly they heard footsteps, lots of them. Emerging from the shadows, were more masked creatures. These however, didn't have that sense of familiarity and they didn't look friendly.

A masked crab-like creature growled and lunged at her. Acting more on reflex then anything else. With impressive speed, she stabbed it in the face with the stinger on her tail. The creature collapsed in a twitching heap.

Another one, that resemble a giant skinned dog, swung paw at her. It was fast but she was faster. She wrapped her tail around it's arm and stabbed the beast's shoulder with her stinger. It howled in agony. A grin crossed her mask as she attacked the trapped beast with her claws.

Once she defeated the beast, she glanced at the snake and the thin one. The thin one had just jumped onto the back of a large, hulking masked beast and was shredding it's back with his talons. While the snake lunged at a bat creature and devoured it whole. The snake then said, "Mmm... Delicious! These things taste great!"

Driven by curiosity and hunger, she attacked the nearest creature. She tore it apart with her claws and teeth and consumed it. The snake was right, they were delicious and she felt a little stronger then she had a moment earlier.

Her grin grew even wider. She didn't know who or what she was. But what she did know was that she, the thin one and the snake would devour anyone or anything they and become stronger. For in this world, the weak were consumed by the strong.

* * *

Meanwhile

Orihime's Apartment

Karakura Town

_Orihime Inoue sat on a grass covered hill overlooking an empty field. She saw Tatsuki walking across the field, towards her. Orihime stood up and waved to her best friend, who smiled and returned the gesture and continued walking._

_Then Orihime noticed a black crack form on the ground behind Tatsuki. She watched in horror as black tendrils emerged from the opening and slowly crept towards her friend._

_Orihime yelled at Tatsuki, trying to warn her, but Tatsuki didn't seem notice Orihime's attempts to warn her._

_Orihime started to run down the hill, only to crash into an invisible wall at the foot of the hill. She began to frantically hit the wall, trying in vain to break the wall separating her from her friend._

_Tatsuki, finally noticing Orihime's actions, glanced behind her. As soon as she did, the tendrils wrapped around her legs, dragging Tatsuki to the ground. They started to pull Tatsuki to the crack they came from but Tatsuki wasn't about to go without a fight. She started punching and kicking at the tendrils but they seemed to unaffected by her blows. More tendrils wrapped around her legs, binding them together as Tatsuki continued to thrashed against her bonds._

_Orihime knew there was only one way to save Tatsuki, her fairies. She summoned them, only to find to her horror, that her hair clips were missing. She knew that her hair clips were in her hair a moment ago but now they had vanished. Frantically, she looked around for her hair clips, only to hear Tatsuki scream._

_Tatsuki was almost at the crack, her legs almost completely cover by the tendrils and her left arm was pinned to her side, while her free right hand was trying to hold onto any she could find, her face full of fear. Orihime could only helplessly watch, tears pouring down her eyes, whispering 'no' over and over again. She heard Tatsuki scream again, this time calling for Orihime to help her, but she was powerless to save her best friend._

_Then Tatsuki disappeared into the crack._

"_NOOOOOOOOOO!!"_

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!" Orihime screamed as she woke from her nightmare.

She sat up and hugged her knees, body drenched in sweat and tears still in her eyes.

_'It was just a bad dream. A horrible nightmare, nothing else. Tatsuki's fine.'_

She tried to reassure herself that everything was fine but she just couldn't. This wasn't the first time she had a bad nightmare, but they had never been so real. And that is what truly frightened her. It felt like it actually happened, rather then just a nightmare.

She turned to the phone on her nightstand, debating whether or not she should call Tatsuki. She wanted to call her, to hear her voice, to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was safe. But it was late, really late. Calling Tatsuki at this hour would only cause Tatsuki to worry about her. And she already felt guilty about keeping Tatsuki in the dark about...well everything since the day they were attacked by the tentacle hollow. She hated it, but she didn't want Tatsuki to worry about or worst, getting hurt trying to protect her from an enemy that Tatsuki just couldn't beat.

_'I'm fine, Tatsuki's fine. It was just a nightmare. I shouldn't worry her over nothing. I'll see her tomorrow.'_

Silencing her doubts, Orihime laid back down into her bed and tried to get back to sleep. Confident that she'd see Tatsuki the next morning and that her dream was just a dream.

Little did she know just how wrong she was.

* * *

Wow, I didn't expect this chapter to get this long. I had actually planned have to the largest section I added to go into chapter two as a flashback. But it didn't come out the way I wanted. So instead, I changed it into a smaller, more detailed addition to chapter one. For those who are wondering, why didn't I have this when I first wrote chapters one and two? It's because at the time I hadn't come up a released form for Keigo that I liked, preventing me from coming up with a normal hollow form for him. He was the hardest one to create. Mizuiro was the easiest, in fact his released form has changed only slightly from my original idea. Tatsuki was a little harder and her form changed a times before I came up with what she has now. Originally, she would have had a wolf-like released form, but I felt that it would have been a little too similar to Grimmjow's, merely replacing the panther with a wolf. But Keigo was a whole other story. I have half a dozen different forms for him, none of which I was crazy about. That changed when I started writing chapter four. I had finally come up with a form I liked, with some inspiration from World of Warcraft. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach

Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Also I forgot to add in the first chapter that it took place the night the Grand Fisher was killed by Ichigo's father.

Also I found this amazing Youtube video called Bleach 300 Trailer "11th Squad" I recommend it to anyone who loves the movie 300, Bleach or Squad 11 and its awesome captain.

* * *

Chapter Two

Las Noches

A few days later

"Now, please enlighten us, Ulquiorra. Show us everything you saw in the human world. Do not leave out a single detail."

"Yes sir." Ulquiorra replied before removing his left eye and crushing it in his hand. Dust blew from his hand, creating mental images for all the arrancar and three shinigami present of what transpired in the world of the living. Including three arrancar that were hidden in the shadows near Aizen's throne.

It wasn't that they weren't to be there. On the contrary, they had be ordered to attend the meeting and to hide themselves from the other arrancar. The reason for these three arrancar to hide themselves was simple. Only Aizen and his lieutenants, Gin and Tosen knew about these three arrancar and that was how Aizen wanted it for now. As it would be an inconvenience if one of the arrancar during an incursion into the human world, mentioned the newly born arrancar to those who opposed him.

Mizuiro closed his eyes, or rather his two main eyes. As his mask fragment, which covered most of his forehead and extended slightly down the sides of his head, had three small glowing hollow eyes which he couldn't close.

He watched Ulquiorra's memories with a mixture of interest and disappointment and an extremely small amount of sorrow. Interest at the sight of two of the Espada, the strongest of the arrancar in action, whose level he and his two companions now aspired to achieve. But his interest was overshadowed by his disappointment in Ichigo and the others' rather poor showing, especially after hearing what happened in the Soul Society over summer break.

_'Summer break. Seems like it ended a lifetime ago rather then a couple of days.'_

In may ways, it was another lifetime. A life when they had been just three fairly ordinary teenagers, unaware (at least for Keigo and himself as Tatsuki had some idea what was going) of spirits, hollows, soul reapers and everything else that made up the spiritual world. Now they were arrancar, hollows whose masks had been removed and gained the powers of soul reapers.

He had been a fool to be so afraid when he was first brought to Los Noches. Though the physical and emotional pain of dying and becoming a hollow intense to say the least. Then there was the hunger, the insatiable, unending hunger. He never wanted to experience that pain and hunger again and would kill to avoid experiencing again.

He recalled the day Aizen and his lieutenants turned them into hollows. After the transformation, they had no memory of who were when they were alive. Aizen had them thrown the into a vast, mist-filled cavern full of hollows fighting and devouring each other. The hollows in pit must have sensed something about the three of them as most the hollows charged them a shortly after they landed in the pit.

Naturally they fought back. At first, they just fought the hollows till the hunger got better of them and they started consuming hollows as well. Mizuiro had to admit that hollows had been pretty tasty and growing stronger with each hollow they devoured, made the taste even better. Yet they didn't attacked each other despite the fact at the time they didn't remember anything from when they were alive. Looking back on it, he figured that it was a small part of their subconscious that remain after the transformation.

After a period of time of fighting and eating hollows, a second transformation occurred. They grew larger, their bodies became cloaked in black robes and lost most of their conscious thoughts, but somehow retained control over their bodies. Becoming near mindless beasts, almost entirely driven by hunger and instinct, was without a doubt, the most bizarre experience he ever had in both his life and afterlife. They had become gillians, the first level of the menos.

With the second transformation also intensified their hunger. In fact it was the increased hunger that pushed almost all rational thought from their minds.

Without pausing, they continued feeding on the hollows. They even devoured a few gillians that had been attracted by the number of hollows in the area. In fact, the gillians tasted better then ordinary hollows. Probably because they were made of so many hollows.

Eventually after consuming several gillians and countless hollows, another transformation tore through their bodies. They became smaller in size, regained the ability to think clearly and grew even stronger then before. They reached the second level, Adjuchas-class menos.

It was then that the endless tide of hollows stopped. And after they finished off the remaining hollows, Aizen, Gin and Tosen appeared before them. Aizen congratulated them on completing the first part of their training. Aizen then proceed to use Hogyoku to turn them from hollows into arrancars.

Their masks broke, their hollow holes shrunk and moved. Tatsuki's was located where her navel was, Keigo's was just to the left of his right shoulder and his own was now on his throat. Their bodies changed back to their human forms, and their memories of when they were alive, completely restored. But that wasn't all. They were now more powerful then they could ever have hoped to become while they were alive. And there was the freedom that this power brought. The freedom to do anything they wanted, to kill just about anyone as though they were a fly.

Of course, Tatsuki, Keigo, and himself were currently among weakest of the arrancar, due to the fact that they had no actually idea any of how to use their new powers. That would change with the training Aizen planned to put them through. Although Aizen did say that the training would be brutal, and that it was possible that they wouldn't survive it.

_'We'll survive. We're no longer a bunch of weak and pathetic humans.'_

He had changed dramatically over the past few day. Most people who knew him when he was alive would say it was for the worst but he found that he didn't care what anyone thought of him, even if they were probably right. He now realized that human morals and ethics, ultimately humanity itself, merely got in the way and should be discarded like garbage. Those who had known him when he was alive, would no doubt say that kind of thinking was evil.

_'Evil. What a joke. Evil is a point of view, nothing more. Belonging to those who didn't have the will or the power to do what is necessary to achieve victory.'_

No doubt when Ichigo and the others found out what happened to them, try would try to convince them to come with them so they could find a way to turn back into to humans or find a way to "purify" their souls. Or maybe they'd even try to get them to go to the Soul Society.

He felt a chuckle crawl up his throat, but he suppressed it before it could escaped his mouth. What a joke. Why would they ever want to go back to being weak humans? And purifying their souls? It made them sound like they were a bunch of disgusting hollows. As for going to Soul Society. That was an even bigger joke. They didn't belong there any more then soul reapers belonged in Hueco Mundo.

_'I wonder what they're gonna do. Will they try to save us or will they try to kill us? Guess it doesn't matter at the moment, as we won't be leaving Hueco Mundo till at least the end of the month if not longer.'_

Mizuiro turned the focus of his hollow eyes to Keigo and Tatsuki, observing their reaction to the images of Ichigo, Orihime and Chad being beaten up pretty badly by Yammy.

Keigo's mask fragments consisting of a triangular piece on both cheeks with a single horizontal dark blue line running through the middle of each piece and a pair of fangs hanging from each ear like earrings. Tatsuki's dominated the right side of her face. It stretched from her forehead and ended with a row of sharp teeth at the top of her upper lip and stretched from the middle of her nose to just before her right ear. A pair of diagonal red slash marks extended from the right side of the eye hole of the mask, looking like someone had carved half of an X on her mask.

Both of them, like Mizuiro, were wearing standard arrancar uniforms, much to Keigo annoyance. He complained several times already about the outfits, claiming they lacked "personal style". He probably would kept on complaining if he hadn't pointed out to Keigo that they could personalize the outfits later and of course Tatsuki threatening to beat the crap out of him if he didn't stop complaining, helped.

_'Same old Keigo.'_

Their reactions to images was unsurprisingly similar to his own reaction, though he notice when Orihime was being beaten by Yammy, Tatsuki's left eye twitched. He briefly wondered whether she still desired to protect Orihime or if she was jealous of Yammy before returning his attention to Aizen and Ulquiorra.

Aizen, his eyes still closed, spoke, "I see. Then that means the reason you chose not to dispose of him was because you felt he was worthless?"

Tatsuki quietly snorted. Having known Ichigo the longest out of the three of them and having sparred with Ichigo numerous times since they were four, was no doubt irritated at the idea of him being thought of as worthless.

"Yes" replied Ulquiorra in his ever emotionless, monotone voice. "Since there was no possible way he could have stood between us and our goals, I felt it pointless to waste further time with him. In addition to that-"

"Don't give me that shit!" a loud voice interrupted him.

Everyone turned to the speaker, the sixth Espada, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques.

"If I ran into such a weak bastard as that, I simply would've eradicated him with a single blast." continued the Espada.

Ulquiorra silently stared at Grimmjow, allowing him to continue to rant.

"No matter what kind of junk stands in your way. The word 'kill' was in your orders, wasn't it? Then you should've simply killed without any hesitation! Right?!"

One of Grimmjow's Fraccion, whom Mizuiro didn't know, added, "My sentiments exactly. This applies to any enemy. Let's say they are not worth killing. If that is so, then isn't it worthless to let them live as well?"

Grimmjow nodded before glaring at Yammy and said, "More importantly...Yammy! How dare you try to lie straight to my face like that!"

Yammy glared back but didn't saying back at higher ranked and stronger Espada.

"He wasn't worth killing" my ass! What you mean to say is "I failed to kill him", right?!"

"Hey Grimmjow, don't go talking trash when you have no idea what's going on. I was too busy taking care of the sandal dude and that dark bitch. The kid was outta my hands." the tenth Espada said in defense.

Grimmjow laughed and replied, "Are you even listening to me, dumbass? Like I said before, I would've gotten them both in a single blast."

Tatsuki, in a low voice, said, "What an arrogant asshole. He makes that dumb brute Yammy look good."

Keigo quietly chuckled and before adding, "Yeah, he and his goons must have a combined

IQ equal to Yammy's. Betcha he's gonna piss off Aizen-sama or one of the higher ranked Espada and end up demoted or dead. Course, his replacement will probably a just as bad."

Mizuiro nodded and said, "He's likely to take his Fraccion and try to kill Ichigo and the others without permission. So he can make Ulquiorra and Yammy look bad."

Keigo shook his head, "No way he's that stupid. Hell, even if he did succeed, Aizen-sama would take his head for going to the world of the living without his orders. Even if he hated Ulquiorra as much we've heard, he won't do it."

Mizuiro turned to Keigo and simply said, "Wanna bet?"

Keigo grinned, "What's the wager?"

Mizuiro smirked, "Winner decides."

"You're on. Tatsuki, you're the witness, in case loser tries to cheap out on the bet."

"Whatever." she shrugged, her attention back to arguing Espada.

Mizuiro and Keigo as well turned their attention back to the meeting, both confident that they win their wager.

They watched the Espada argue until Aizen stepped in and agreed with Ulquiorra's decision. Needless to say Grimmjow didn't like that and looked like he wanted to skin Ulquiorra. Leaving no doubt in Mizuiro's mind what he would do next.

He whispered to Keigo, "Last chance to back out."

"No way."

"Suit yourself."

* * *

Several weeks later

Karakura Town

Sunday 8:30 pm.

A number of tears opened up in the sky over Karakura, disgorging a dozen hollows into the city. All of the soul reapers currently residing in Karakura immediately responded, completely unaware of smaller opening forming in city which then closed a second later. All except for three ex-captains, two of whom were currently standing outside the Urahara Shoten.

Urahara scratched his unshaven chin and turned to woman standing next to him. "You felt that too didn't you?"

Yoruichi nodded and asked, "I couldn't pinpoint the location though, were you able to?"

Urahara's gaze turned back to the sky. "No. It wasn't open long enough and there isn't any kind of foreign spiritual presence except for the hollows." Urahara sighed before continuing. "And I believe we're only ones did sense it. Which means the hollows are a distraction for what ever came through that portal."

"Should we tell the others?"

Urahara shook his head, "Not till we know more."

"What's going where? Its been almost a month since an Espada has been in an attack and since then Aizen has only sent a few groups of Numeros."

Urahara nodded. The attacks by the Numeros had been difficult but were easy when compared to the first two attacks. It didn't make sense. Why bring your heavy hitters early on then pull them back and send out pointless, weaker attacks that had little to no chance of any kind of success? Though Urahara wasn't complaining. The lull had given Ichigo and the others a chance to train and prepare. More importantly it gave Ichigo a chance to get his inner hollow under control.

But Urahara was no fool. Aizen was preparing something, something bad. What said thing was, he could only guess at.

Urahara turned back to Yoruichi. "We'll keep an eye on things, more so then usual anyway. Its about the only thing we can do."

* * *

Elsewhere

In an alley inhabited by a lone homeless drunk, a trio of teens, each with a suitcase, appeared seemingly out of nowhere, or at least thats how it would seem to the majority of the people living in Karakura.

Keigo snorted in disgust at their surroundings. "I know we're suppose to be discrete and all but you'd think they would have chosen a better place for the Garganta to open up at then some filthy, rat infested ally."

Mizuiro shrugged. "Sounds like Gin's sense of humor. Or perhaps it was Luppi, Nnoitra or Grimmjow. They certainly hate us, especially you, Tatsuki."

Keigo chuckled and responded, "Thats true. How did you piss those guys off anyway?"

Tatsuki struck a pose like she was in deep thought before answering. "Lets see, well for Luppi, like you guys, I first mistook him for a girl and have been calling him names like Sissy and Girly Boy ever since. For Nnoitra, its a little more personal."

Keigo nodded. "Oh yeah. I'd forgotten. You humiliated him by beating his Fraccion, and spared his life in front of the other Espada."

"Don't forget, I cut out that Fraccion's eye too. What was his name again? Tesla or something like that. And of course you both why Grimmjow hates me so much."

This time all three teens broke out into laughter. It was true. Ever since the two first met, they hated each other. In fact, the first words Grimmjow said to them were, "What's so special about 'em? They look like a bunch of weak kids to me." To which Tatsuki replied, "Better to be a weak kid then a stupid, useless one-armed cripple."

Needless to say, the two hated each since. No doubt Tatsuki was at the top of the ex-Espada's list of people to kill, alongside Ichigo and Luppi.

_'I still can't believe he actually thought he'd get away with it. Ah well, at Mizuiro hasn't called in the bet yet. Hell, he's probably forgotten.'_

"Oh Keigo, I almost forgot. Thought of something you could do for me."

_'Dammit.'_

Mizuiro leaned over and whispered to Keigo. Keigo's response was his jaw dropping and his eyes becoming as large as dinner plates.

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow and said, "What did you say to him?"

Mizuiro smile and answered, "I told him for losing the bet, he has to greet Ichigo like he always does while we're on the mission."

The two of them then started laughing uncontrollably.

"Aw come on. Its bad enough that I have to deal with my sister and two soul reapers in the same building and this stupid gigai. But that too!"

Mizuiro rolled his eyes and replied, "Do you want them to get suspicious of us?"

"But-"

_CRASH!_

The three immediately stopped and turned around. Behind them was a homeless drunk, who had just dropped a bottle of alcohol and was staring at them.

Keigo sighed, "Looks like this wasn't as discrete a place as they thought."

He raised his hand and prepared to fire a cero, only to have Mizuiro grabbed his arm.

"Remember what Ulquiorra said. The seals and our gigais mask our spiritual presence so long as we don't do anything other then sonidos. Ceros and balas will alert everyone to our presence."

A sheepish grin formed on Keigo's face and he replied, "My bad. I forgot."

Instead of blasting the bum with a cero, he sonidoed behind him and before the drunk could react to Keigo's sudden disappearance, Keigo snapped his neck like a twig.

After tossing the body into a rusted out dumpster and devouring the man's soul, he vigorously shook his hands and spat a couple times on the ground. "Ewww. He was really dirty."

The other two snickered at his comment.

Tatsuki glanced at her watch then grabbed Keigo's suitcase and tossed it to him. "C'mon, we have to get to the airport before the flights start arriving."

"Yeah, yeah." he replied in a lazy tone, slinging the suitcase behind his back.

The three disappeared leaving a brief static buzz behind.

* * *

Karakura International Airport

30 Minutes Later

Keigo stood outside the baggage claim area, waiting for his parents to arrive. Their flight had been on time, which was surprising considering the small airport regularly suffered from delays in both arriving and departing.

Keigo watched his parents arrive with the other passengers and wait for their luggage. He couldn't help but marvel at Aizen's plans. He had targeted and removed relatives that lived overseas but were close family wise. For Mizuiro, it was his grandmother, both Tatsuki and himself it was an aunt and an uncle. This meant that their parents had to deal with their estates and other family matters. And of course, they received a suggestion of when they should return from Aizen and his zanpaku-to.

_'All that attention for the three of us.'_

They weren't fools. Aizen was using them for his own proposes. In the end, they didn't care. Aizen took them and remade them, stronger, faster, and just plain better then they were before. So why not fight for him. Of course, he was likely to win this war and become a god. Why fight that, when you could instead profit from it. Of course, should the tides turn against Aizen, they would slip away into Hueco Mundo until the war ended.

His thoughts were interrupted by his mother's voice, "Keigo? What are you doing here?"

_'Dammit. I should pay more attention to what's going on.'_

Pulling out the memory modifier from his pocket, without pausing in slightest, he used it. His parents' eyes glazed over for moment as the device worked its magic. When the daze wore off, his father said, "Come on Keigo. We have to catch a cab."

He simply nodded, looking like he was tried from the long fight and followed his parents.

_'That was easy. But now the real challenge begins. Living under the same roof with two soul reapers and the bane of my existence, my sister. At least compared to that, everything else will be easy.'

* * *

_

I'm gonna end it here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach. Wish I did, but I don't.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Orihime's Apartment

Karakura Town

Monday 1:40 am

Orihime tossed and turned in her sleep. The nightmare had returned with a vengeance.

_Orihime once again found herself watching helplessly as Tatsuki was dragged into the crack by the black tendrils. But to her horror, didn't end there like it did last time._

_A moment later, Tatsuki rose from the crack, her eyes closed and a katana in her hand. Her hair and her skin, excluding a small area around her left eye, were pure white. The sword she was holding was longer then most sealed zanpaku-tos. It was about the same length as the swords of captains Zaraki and Hitsugaya. The guard was a bronze jagged X The handle was black with crimson line spiraling up it._

_A feral grin spread across Tatsuki's face, revealing a mouth full of black teeth, as she opened her eyes. Her left eye was normal, though it was unfocused and lifeless. Her right eye however, looked like a yellow ring in a sea of black._

_Fear consumed Orihime as she started to back away from Tatsuki. She backed up two steps before Tatsuki charged at her. However, it was at a speed that Tatsuki shouldn't have been able to do. Tatsuki rammed her shoulder into her stomach, sending Orihime flying to the ground. When Orihime opened her eyes again, Tatsuki was standing over her, her sword was raised over her head._

"_Don't do this Tatsuki. This isn't you." Orihime pleaded with her friend._

_But her words fell on deaf ears as Tatsuki slashed Orihime repeatedly across the chest before bring the sword over her head again, preparing to deliver the killing blow. Orihime screamed in pain as tears of pain and sorrow rolled down her eyes._

"_Why Tatsuki?" was all she could say._

_The grin that hadn't left Tatsuki's face for an instant, faltered for a split second, before growing even wider. Then the sword came down._

"_NOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Orihime shot up out of bed. She was breathing heavily and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

Her bedroom door slammed open. In the doorway was Hitsugaya and Rangiku, zanpaku-tos drawn, searching the room for any dangers.

Realizing that they heard her scream, she attempted to put on her fake reassuring smile. "Sorry for waking you guys up. It was just a nightmare."

Both soul reapers sheathed their zanpaku-tos and raised an eyebrow at her, before looking at each other. Hitaugaya nodded at his lieutenant before walking out of the room. While Rangiku sat down on the bed next to her. Gently rubbing Orihime's back, she asked, "Are you sure? Do you wanna talk about it?"

The smile on Orihime's face dropped and a fresh set of tears rolled down her cheeks. "It was horrible."

Orihime explained in detail her first nightmare and the first part of the second, leaving out the part where Tatsuki attacked her. She honestly didn't know what to make of that. Thought of Tatsuki purposely hurting her, was inconceivable.

When she finished, the tears had gone from a few to a steady stream pouring down her cheeks. Rangiku hugged her, trying to comfort her.

"What if wasn't just a bad dream. What if Tatsuki really is in danger!" Orihime sobbed.

"It was just a nightmare. Your friend, Tatsuki is fine. She's overseas attending a funeral. You yourself said she would be returning pretty soon. And when she does, you're gonna feel pretty silly for worrying so much about nothing." Rangiku said to her, in calming voice.

Orihime hiccuped and rubbed the tears from her eyes. A small smile crossed her lips. "You're right. If Tatsuki was here, she'd be telling me the same thing. She'd say I was worrying too much."

"It's alright Orihime. Can I get you some water or something?"

"No, I'll be alright."

Rangiku rose from the bed and before walking out of the room, said, "Okay. Try to get some sleep Orihime."

When she left, Orihime laid back down and tried to get some sleep. But the images of Tatsuki attacking her, wouldn't leave her mind.

She couldn't help but wonder why? Why was she having such horrible nightmares? Why did they involve Tatsuki? And why did Tatsuki attack her?

* * *

Monday 8:27 am

Orihime yawned as she started her walk to school. She had only gotten a couple hours of sleep because of the nightmare.

Hitsugaya and Rangiku were busy with their soul reaper duties this morning, so she was walking alone. Until she heard a familiar voice. "Hey! Orihime!"

_'That's!'_

She turned around and saw Tatsuki running up street towards her.

At that moment, all of the exhaustion she was feeling, disappeared. She yelled, "TATSUKI!" and ran towards her best friend.

As soon as she was in reach, Orihime grabbed Tatsuki in a big bear hug. "I missed you so much Tatsuki!"

"I missed you too Orihime. But could you let go. It's kinda hard to breath."

With a sheepish grin on her face, she let go. "Oops. Sorry Tatsuki. I guess I don't know my own strength."

Tatsuki snickered and said, "Thats alright. Listen, I'm sorry for not calling you before I left. But there was only one flight leaving that night and there wasn't any time to call."

"I understand. And I'm sorry for your aunt and uncles' death."

"Thanks." There was a sad look on her face for moment before it turned to a smile. C'mon, we gotta get to school. And you have to catch me up on everything I missed while I was away."

The two girls started walking towards school, talking and laughing. All thoughts of the nightmare from last night were gone from Orihime.

* * *

Karakura High School

Monday 8:50 am

Ichigo Kurosaki yawned as he walked though the hallway towards his classroom. A month of training with the vizards had been difficult to say the least. But in the end, his inner hollow was now under control. Though he could only use his masked state for eleven seconds. He'd have to work on that. But now he was ready for a bit of a breather from training and Aizen and his arrancar. Which in this case, was school. He hadn't been to school since the beginning of his training. Looking back at it, he probably should have had Kon use his body and go to school for him.

_'And have him hit on every girl in class? I don't think so.'_

He was about to open the classroom door, when he heard a very familiar voice. "ICHI-!"

Without even thinking, his body reacted as it always did. He clotheslined Keigo.

He looked down at the teenager sprawled on the floor. "Hey Keigo. When'd you get back?"

Before Keigo could answer, another voice from behind, called out, "Hey Ichigo. Hey Keigo."

Ichigo glanced back. It was Mizuiro. "Hey Mizuiro. You're back too."

Mizuiro looked at him questioningly, "Too? What do you mean?"

"You, Keigo, and Tatsuki, all left on the same night, for the same reason, funerals."

Mizuiro shrugged. "Really? Now thats wired."

Ichigo nodded and replied, "Yeah. I wonder if Tatsuki's back too."

Keigo picked himself off the floor. His hands were rubbing his nose, which had blood dripping down it and was starting to swell up a bit. "Ow, ow, ow! That really hurt! Did you to have to hit me so hard Ichigo?"

Ichigo hesitated moment.

_'Did I really hit him harder then I normally do?'_

"I'm sorry Keigo. I didn't mean to hit you that hard."

"I'll be fine. Just don't hit so hard next time." Keigo replied before walking off to the nurse's office.

Ichigo sighed.

_'Great job Ichigo. First day back from training and you almost break Keigo's nose._'

Mizuiro, seeing the expression on his face, said, "Don't worry Ichigo. Keigo has a hard head. He'll be fine."

Ichigo nodded as they walked into the classroom. As they entered, Ichigo saw Tatsuki talking to Orihime, Rukia, Ragiku, and the group of girls they normally hung out with. Chad and the other soul reapers either sitting quietly or talking amongst themselves. Oddly, Uryu's desk was the only empty one.

_'Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in awhile. Wonder where he's at.'_

Ichigo mentally shrugged before greeting the others and sitting down at his desk. Hopefully, he'd get a few days of peace and quiet.

* * *

An Abandoned Warehouse

Monday 6:06 pm

Tatsuki and Mizuiro stood atop an old, abandoned warehouse, waiting for Keigo to arrive. He was late, but then he was living in the same building as two soul reapers. So he had to take extra precautions to avoid being spotted doing something a human shouldn't be able to do. At the moment, secrecy was more important then time.

Hence the reason they meeting in this old warehouse, located at the far end of town from where they lived.

Tatsuki was pleased that the day had gone without a hitch. Frankly, she had been nervous that someone would suspect something. Just thinking about should have someone suspicious. Three people left on the same night, for the same reason and then returned the same day. The similarities were just too great to be a coincidence. Yet no one suspected that any was wrong. In fact, Ichigo even commented that the three left the same and for the same reason, yet didn't suspect a thing.

After an hour of class passed and it became obvious that Ichigo and the others didn't suspect a thing. When she realized that, she spent the rest of the day, fighting back laughter. It was just so hilarious. We're they all really that gullible? That stupid? Fortunately, her acting abilities were far better then she gave herself credit for.

There was a static buzz, signaling Keigo's arrival. The two of them turned to the newly arrived teenager. A grin spread across Keigo's face which still had a bandage on his nose. "Well that was an interesting day."

The three of them burst out laughing, dropping the masks they had been wearing since they arrived at the airport. The laughter went on for a few minutes before they stopped.

"Did you see Ichigo's face when he thought he busted my nose!"

Mizuiro chuckled. "When I said you had greet Ichigo like you do, I didn't think you'd bust your gigai's nose to psyche him out like that.

Keigo peeled off the bandage on nose, revealing a completely healed nose. "Though I wouldn't have been able to do without you, Mizuiro, for distracting him for a moment, so I could bust my gigai's nose."

A smirk formed on Tatsuki face. "So you found an actual use for these stupid gigais."

Tatsuki hated gigais. It felt like she was wearing a wet suit that was three sizes too small. She wondered how Rukia and the other soul reapers could stand using them. Even worst they couldn't leave their gigais unless their cover was blown or unless they ordered to by either Aizen, Gin, Tosen or the Espada they directly reported to, Ulquiorra. Same with the limit that sealed a third of their power.

Mizuiro pulled out his cellphone. "So, shall I make the report to Ulquiorra or do one of you want to?"

Tatsuki nodded. "Go for it."

Flipping open the cellphone, Mizuiro dialed the number to directly contact Ulquiorra. He raised the phone to his ear and spoke, "Ulquiorra-sama, it's us." "Yes, they don't suspect anything." "Yes, captain Hitsugaya and his team don't either." "We don't know about those two." "Yes. We understand." "Yes. I'll tell them."

Mizuiro turned off the phone and put it back in his pocket. "Luppi will be leading an attack on Wednesday night around 7:45. Aizen's orders are for us to observe and not to blow our cover."

"Aw c'mon! Is that all we're gonna do here? Sit around and watch while everyone else has fun?" grumbled Keigo.

Mizuiro sighed. "I know how you feel Keigo and I don't like it any better. But Aizen wants us to be his eyes and ears in the living world. For the time being anyway. So unless you wanna lose a limb like Grimmjow or end up on a table in Granz's lab then I suggest you follow Aizen's orders."

Keigo grumbled out a "Yeah, yeah."

Tatsuki didn't blame him. She was just as annoyed as he was. She was a girl of action. Actually, she couldn't really call herself a girl anymore as she was now no longer human. But that was beside the point. The point was that she is a being of action. The thought of sitting out of a fight, irritated her. She really wanted to fight Ichigo, to see which one of them was stronger. Back when they were human, she had always beat him when they sparred. But now he was a soul reaper and she was an arrancar. Unfortunately, orders were orders and she wasn't about do something stupid, like that cripple Grimmjow did.

Keigo glanced at his watch and sighed. "I gotta to go. I gotta pick up some groceries for my sister and if I don't get back in like twenty minutes, she'll yell at me. Course, she'll yell me if I'm on time." He sighed again. "I swear if this mission last longer then a week, I'll probably snap and end up killing her slowly and painfully which will probably blow my cover." A grin crossed Keigo's face as he added, "But will be really, really gratifying. See ya guys tomorrow." And with that he replaced the bandage on his nose and sonidoed off the roof.

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. Keigo just admitted he may end up blowing their cover, just because he couldn't tolerate being around his sister! It was pathetic and unworthy of an arrancar.

Mizuiro having seen her expression, chuckled. "I can't stand being around Keigo's sister for more then ten minutes. Frankly, I applaud him for simply living with her."

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. "Is she really that bad?"

"Oh yeah."

"Wow. I thought you could tolerate just about anyone."

Mizuiro shrugged. "Not her."

Tatsuki briefly snickered before saying, "Well, we should be going before someone sees us."

Mizuiro nodded and the two sonidoed off the roof.

* * *

Wednesday 7:40 pm

Tatsuki uncapped a bottle of water and chugged half the bottle in one gulp. She had been jogging for the last twenty-five minutes and her gigai was tiring. Another reason she hated her gigai, her physical abilities were limited to slightly better then the majority of people.

Her cellphone started to beep. She glanced at her watch.

_'They're early.'_

She pulled the phone out of her pocket and flipped it open. The screen showed that the Garganta was opening up a few blocks away.

_'Looks like I won't have to go very far.'_

She was about to finish her water, when she heard a static buzz and a hand wrapped around her throat and lift her off her feet.

It was Grimmjow. He said to her, with a sneer on his face, "Arisawa. Enjoying your time back in the human world?"

As Grimmjow's hand was wrapped around her throat, her answer came out as a rasping, incoherent sound. Grimmjow, realizing this, loosen his grip, allowing her to answer. "I thought Aizen-sama told you not to even talk to me while I'm here. Did you really miss me that much cripple? Or did you just wanna lose your other arm?"

Grimmjow growled. "Bitch! I'll rip your throat out!"

"Aww. I love you too cripple. But before you go any further, you should know that Ichigo and others are coming. So perhaps we can postpone this little romantic get together to a later date."

Grimmjow snarled at her. But in the end, let go of her throat. Before he sonidoed away, he said, "Arisawa, you, Kojima, Asano, Luppi, Ulquiorra and that punk Kurosaki will all eventually die by my hand, so enjoy your life while you can."

Tatsuki rubbed her sore throat.

_'I'll be waiting for you to try it Grimmjow. And I'll make you wish Tosen took your head instead of your arm.'_

She then walked a block closer to battle that was breaking out. Completely unaware of black cat that had just disappeared after watching everything that transpired between the two from a nearby alley.

* * *

Urahara Shoten

Forty minutes later

Urahara sighed. "This is gonna complicate things."

Yoruichi nodded her head and replied, "Indeed. Should I get Ichigo and the others?"

"No. Let them rest. We'll tell them tomorrow night. It's going to be difficult for Ichigo and the others." He sighed again. "Out of all the things Aizen could have done. This was the one thing I didn't expect and yet it's also one I should have expected him to do."

"There's no way you could have expected this. You're good Urahara but you're not that good."

"No. I should have expected this. It was Aizen excels at, using a person's own weakness against them. In the case of Ichigo, Orihime and Chad, it's their friends. I figured that he'd try get them to fight each other. You know, divide and conquer, that kinda stuff. I just didn't thing he would target Kurosaki's friends that had yet to awaken their own spiritual power."

"You mean that they?"

Urahara sadly nodded and replied, "Yes. Had fate been a little different, they would have been like Orihime and Chad. But now that doesn't matter now. If I know Aizen, they're arrancar now."

Anger and sadness crossed Yoruichi's face. "Ichigo, Chad and Orihime won't believe that."

"Of course they won't. They'll cling to the only other explanations for what's happened. That they've either been brainwashed or replaced by impostors." Urahara sighed. "I really need a drink. Hey Tessai! Bring out some sake!"

A moment later, Tessai stepped out of the back room with a bottle of sake and two glasses on a tray.

Urahara grabbed a cup and poured sake into it, before looking at Yoruichi and asking, "You want some?"

Yoruichi considered it for a moment before simply nodding. Tomorrow morning, the two of them would be suffering a nasty hangover. But the pain of the hangover would pale in comparison to the pain and heartbreak they would bring tomorrow night.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach, if I did Kenpachi would be around a lot more then he is.

Yo everybody! I would have had this chapter up sooner but I was reediting and rewriting parts of the first three chapters that I just wasn't satisfied with, especially chapter 2. I plan to post the redone chapters shortly after this one is posted.

Winged Knight: Wow. You think you hate them now wait till the next couple of chapters especially chapter six. In fact, anyone who likes Orihime will probably hate me for what I have planned for her. I'd tell you more but I don't wanna ruin anything.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Kurosaki Residence

Karakura Town

7:30 pm Thursday

Ichigo Kurosaki sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Homework could be a real pain, especially if you haven't been to school in month. Adding to his annoyance was Rukia, who was currently laying on his bed, reading one of her trashy novels rather loudly like she always does.

There was something else on his mind. This morning, Tatsuki had bruises on her neck, shaped like a hand had wrapped around her throat. She said she got the bruises the night before when a one-armed, blue haired man attacked her for a moment before suddenly leaving. It was clearly Grimmjow, but why would he attack Tatsuki? It troubled not only him, but Orihime and Chad as well. All three of them had the same thought, 'Is Aizen now targeting our friends and family?'

They were serious tempted to tell their immediate friends and in Ichigo's case family everything. So they would at least know something about what was going on. But in the end they couldn't. It would inevitably involve them in a fight that none of them, not even Tatsuki was strong enough to fight.

Brushing those thoughts away, he turned his head from his homework to Rukia and said, "Could you keep it down a little? I'm trying to do my homework here."

But to his growing annoyance, she was too enthralled by the book and didn't even react to him.

Ichigo had been about to get up and shake her to get her attention, when a red rubber ball flew through his open bedroom window and smashed into his closet door. Coating it in a crimson liquid and tearing Rukia's attention away from her book. "Ack! Is that blood?! Who the hell fills a ball with blood and throws it through a window?!"

Ichigo sighed again and felt a headache coming. "Urahara. And it isn't blood. It's one of his lame ways of sending messages."

As Ichigo said that, the blood-like liquid began to slide down the door, revealing a message.

_Meet at the Urahara Shoten in half an hour._

"Huh. Thats strange."

Rukia raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Last time he did this, he had a p.s. note saying, "To those who saw this and thought it was some written-in-a-murder-victim's-blood movie cliché, you have no sense of humor. Big time.". But this time there isn't some stupid message attached to the end."

"Maybe he couldn't think of something."

Ichigo stared at her with look that said "Are you kidding?".

"Right, right. I forgot, this is Urahara we're taking about. So that means it must be urgent."

Ichigo nodded, "Right. Well, lets go."

* * *

Urahara Shoten

8:04 pm

Ichigo was getting annoyed. He, Rukia, Orihime, Chad, Renji and the other soul reapers had been waiting over ten minutes for Urahara and Yoruichi. It was strange that they weren't here when they had called the meeting in the first place. Stranger still, no one present had seen the two since before the arrancar attack last night, though when Renji returned to the shop, he found an empty sake bottle on the table they were sitting around.

The door to one of the back rooms open, revealing a solemn and tired looking Urahara and Yoruichi. The two silently sat down at the table. Urahara took off his hat and placed it on the table, he then stared at Ichigo, Orihime and Chad for a moment before saying, in a tone that was devoid of his normal lazy and goofy tone, "Sorry for keeping you waiting. Well now that we're all here-"

"But we aren't all here." Ichigo interrupted. "Uryu isn't here."

Urahara shook his head. "Uryu can't be here at the moment. For his own reasons. Now, as I was saying. Yoruichi and I have something to tell you, something you aren't gonna like but you have to listen to us."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow and said, "What's this all about?"

Yoruichi answered. "Last Sunday night, when all those hollows attacked, Urahara and myself detected a smaller opening forming away from where all the hollows were. Unfortunately, it was open long even for us to pinpoint it's location. So I had been patrolling the town every night since, searching for whatever came through that opening. Last night, when the arrancar attacked, I was a few blocks away from where they entered this world. But I wasn't alone. Your friend Tatsuki was there."

Orihime with a confused look on her face asked, "I don't understand. We already know that Grimmjow attacked her. So why are you bring this up?"

Sighing Yoruichi said, "I saw Grimmjow attack her and was about to intervene when Grimmjow said 'Arisawa. Enjoying your time back in the human world?'"

Everyone was shocked speechless. Somehow Orihime managed to say, "Wh-what?"

Yoruichi continued. "The two began to have a conversation. During which Grimmjow mentioned the names Kojima and Asano, the last names of your friends Mizuiro and Keigo, if I'm not mistaken. Which means that at least Tatsuki if not all three are working Aizen."

Ichigo couldn't believe it. There was no way that Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo would betray them. He was angry at Urahara and Yoruichi for even considering such an idea. But this was Yoruichi and Urahara. They wouldn't lie or joke about something like this, so it had to be true. He began to wonder how and when this happened.

Then it donned on him. The three of them had gone for a month. They left on the same night, for the same reason and returned on the same day! Looking back at it, he couldn't believe he passed it off as a strange coincidence.

He glanced at the others. Chad's head was down, his face nearly unreadable, but Ichigo could tell he was deeply troubled by the news. Hitsugaya was expressionless, no doubt the prodigy was deep in thought while the rest of the male soul reapers seemed more confused and unsure then anything. Rukia and Rangiku had looks of concern on their faces, no doubt they were worried about Chad, Orihime and himself. As for Orihime, her face was a mixture of shock, disbelief and sorrow.

He slammed his fists into the table. "No way! Your wrong! Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro would never join Aizen!"

Urahara sighed and said, "Yoruichi knows what she saw. Have you noticed anything off about the three of them, like forgetting things they should know or strange behavior quirks?"

Chad shook his head while Orihime and Ichigo both replied "No."

"I was afraid of that. Then that means that they likely haven't been replace with imposers or under the influence of some form of mind control. That leaves the only other option." Urahara paused, unsure of how to say the next part.

Orihime in a weak voice, asked, "What is that option, Mr. Urahara?"

Urahara closed his eyes and said, "Yoruichi and I believe that Aizen killed them and remade them as arrancar."

There was silence for a moment before Ichigo shot up and started yelling. "No way! No way in hell! That's the most insane idea I've ever heard of!"

Yoruichi stood up and put her hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Calm down Ichigo."

"No! It's ridiculous! There's no way Aizen would that!"

Urahara replied, "Actually, if you think about it. It's something that Aizen would do. He excels at using people and their weakness and hitting a person's weak spot in a way that they would never expect. He probably planned to have them watch you and relay any thing of importance back to Aizen and then at the right moment, they would no doubt attack."

Ichigo shook his head in denial, unable to actually say anything.

Urahara sighed again. "Let me ask you this. If I'm right, something I pray I am not, could you fight them? Could you fight them unrestrained and to the death against them? If you can't, then you'll never be able to beat them."

"I won't have cause they aren't arrancar. We would have sensed a their reiatsu."

Renji snickered and said, "This coming from the guy who can barely sense reiatsu at all."

"What did you say, you tattooed idiot?!" Ichigo glared back at Renji.

Renji stood up, face to face with Ichigo."You heard-"

"Enough! Sit down you two." An irritated Yoruichi interrupted. After the two complied, she continued, "We have more important things then who can sense reiatsu and who can't. Like what to do about this."

Urahara nodded and continued, "Whether or not you can sense the increase in their reiatsu is a moot point as Aizen easily could have found a way to mask their reiatsu. In fact, I could name a dozen and a half different ways to do such a thing."

"Fine, I'll admit it's possible. But I still believe that Tatsuki and others wouldn't willingly serve Aizen nor are they arrancar." Ichigo grumbled.

Hitsugaya chose this moment to speak. "So basically, the best case scenario, these three are being manipulated by Aizen. Or worst case, they're arrancar now. Then shouldn't we confront them as soon as possible?"

Urahara shook his head. "Not tonight. There's something I'm working on that needs to be finished before you confront them."

"And that would be?"

"Something important. It should be done by tomorrow morning, I suggest you confront them after school tomorrow. Speaking of which, I should get back to work. I'll leaving the planning to you guys." Urahara said before putting his hat back on and walked out the room.

Hitsugaya nodded. "OK then. Tomorrow, we'll ask them to stay after class ends, then we confront them about this whole thing." He turned Ichigo and said, "You three don't have to be there tomorrow if you don't want to."

Ichigo would be there, no question about it. Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro were being controlled by Aizen and he had to save them. And he wanted to rip the bastard apart for that. Rationally speaking, he knew it was possibly that Urahara was right. But he just couldn't believe it was possible. Thought of three of his oldest friends had been turned into arrancar was like dozens of knives plunging into his chest. Worst still, he began think of how Orihime would take it if it was true. Tatsuki was her oldest and best friend, as well as her protector. It would likely destroy Orihime if it was true.

_'STOP IT! They aren't arrancar. They are being hypnotized Aizen. We'll save them like we did Rukia.'_

His resolve set, Ichigo grimly said, "There's no way in hell I won't be there."

Chad nodded and said, "Same here."

Everyone turned to Orihime, who appeared to be deep in thought. A moment later, she answered, "Tatsuki has protected me from bullies more times then I can count. I have to do this."

Hitsugaya nodded and said, "OK. Now we to come up with a plan of attack. This is what I was thinking..."

They quickly hammered out the plan on how they were going to do this. Satisfied with the plan, Hitsugaya said to everyone present, "There is one final thing we need for this succeed. We have to act like nothing is out of the ordinary or else they'll get suspicious and flee before we can learn anything." He turned to Ikkaku and Yumichika. "You two have to be extra careful as your living in the same building as one of them."

He then turned to Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad and said, "But it will even harder for you three. You'll have to face them tomorrow, act like nothing is wrong and convince them to stay after school gets out. Are you sure you can do this?"

Their answer was the same, "Yes."

* * *

Friday 6:20 am

Urahara yawned as he stepped into the main room of his store, a package in his arms. Man was he tired but in the end, it was done.

"Finished Urahara?" asked Yoruichi, who was siting at the table sipping a cup of coffee.

"Yeah." Urahara yawned again. "Boy am I tired. Could you deliver the package to Hitsugaya?"

She nodded and Urahara handed her the package. Yoruichi statred at the package for a moment before asking, "So will it work?"

"For an hour and a half, maybe two."

Yoruichi flash stepped out of the shop, leaving Urahara alone. He yawned one final time before walking off to his bedroom.

* * *

Karakura High School

Friday 3:20 pm

Mizuiro suppressed a yawn. School could be so boring, especially considering it was pointless for them. Course it was also pointless for about everyone else as in a couple of months, Karakura and everyone living here would be gone.

For the most part, he didn't care about what would happen to Karakura and all people that were living here. They were humans, weak and stupid. He was an arrancar, he was stronger, faster, better, and superior to them. Yet, a small part of him felt guilty about being apart of Aizen and his plans. A small shred of his humanity that he couldn't seem to discard, no matter how hard he tried. It was infuriating. He was longer human and didn't need such things, especially considering such wretched memories.

_He was trapped in a black void. Everything save his name and worst memories was stolen from him. He was alone, terrified and wanting desperately to be free of this black hell. He screamed for someone, anyone to save him. Until-_

Mizuiro shook his head. He hated that memory above all others. It was the moment where was the weakest and the most helpless he had ever been. Never again would he be that weak. Never again would he be that afraid.

He heard the bell ring, signaling the end of class. He quickly packed up his stuff and hurried out the door with Ichigo, Keigo, and Chad. They were going out for pizza, then heading to the nearby movie theater which was showing a marathon of some of their favorite anime movies. Something he was personally looking forward to. Even after becoming an arrancar, he still liked many of the things he did when he was human and he would have gone to it regardless of whether or not Ichigo invited him. Same was true with Keigo and Tatsuki. In fact Tatsuki had been slightly annoyed that Yammy wiped out the majority of the high school Karate team when he and Ulquiorra first set foot in Kurakara which caused the cancellation of the team for the year.

There was something odd though. Mizuiro had noticed that Ichigo and Orihime had both been rather quiet today (he couldn't tell if Chad was being extra quiet today as Chad is always quiet). He couldn't help but wonder why they were being quiet. Could it be that they were suspicious of them? Not likely as they hadn't done anything to arouse suspicion. Even Grimmjow's confrontion with Tatsuki on Wednesday night wouldn't as no one had come from the same direction as Tatsuki.

Perhaps they were still concerned about the bruises had left Tatsuki's neck and were considering telling all their "secrets". It would certainly make their job easier. And maybe they could learn a few things that they hadn't found out about yet, maybe even get a look around Urahara's little shop.

They reach the stairways, but instead of going down, Ichigo started walking up stairs.

Keigo asked the question that Mizuiro was about to ask. "Hey Ichigo, why are you going up stairs?"

Without looking back, he simply responded, "We're meeting some others first on the roof, then we're leaving."

His tone and stance were odd. It was then that Mizuiro came to realization, ever since they left the classroom, Chad was walking behind the two of them and Ichigo was in front them. Like they were prisoners being lead somewhere.

_'They suspects something!'_

Mizuiro glanced at Keigoa and scratched the bridge of his nose, the signal for "they suspect us of something". To which Keigo responded by simply blinking once which meant "I agree".

Now the question was how much did they know and could they lie their way out of it? And also did they suspect Tatsuki?

_'This is gonna be troublesome. Fortunately Aizen gave a bunch of Granz's toys for this kind of situation.'_

If they couldn't lie their way out of this or they knew the full truth, then they could simply use Granz's toys to distract them long enough for them open up a Garganta and escape to Los Noches.

Ichigo reached the door to the roof, opened it and walked through. He and Keigo followed him, followed by Chad.

They weren't the only ones there. Tatsuki, Orihime, Hitsugaya and his entire team was there. Tatsuki glanced at him and scratched the bridge of her nose. He responded by blinking once.

He turned to Ichigo. "So everyone here is going to the movies with us?"

But it wasn't Ichigo that responded, in fact he didn't even look at him. It was Hitsugaya who stepped towards him and answered. "Not exactly. We have to ask the three of you some questions."

What none of the arrancar notice was that as Hitsugaya walked towards them, he had crushed the head of what looked like a pez dispenser.

"What?" he responded.

"We heard an interesting story last night." Hitsugaya turned to Tatsuki and said, "Yoruichi saw you, Tatsuki, get into a fight with Grimmjow. So tell me Tatsuki, how do you know Grimmjow?"

_'Crap. That ruins just about anyway of lying our way out of this.'_

Mizuiro glanced around the rooftop. The other soul reapers were spread out on the roof while Chad was blocking the only door. A grim expression was on Ichigo's face while Orihime was just plain sad.

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow, confusion on her face. "Who?"

"Grimmjow. The man who attacked you two nights ago."

"I don't know who that nutjob is. Will someone tell me what this is all about?"

"Fine then I'll rephrase that." Hitsugaya now turned back Keigo and himself. "How long have you three been working for Aizen?"

Mizuiro and Keigo put p their own faces of confusion. Keigo asked, "I don't understand. Who's Aizen? And what's going on here?"

"Cut the act Keigo, if you are Keigo. We want the truth." Ichigo bluntly said.

Keigo now added shock to the confusion on his face. "What?! Ichigo, you think we're impostors?! I'm Keigo Asano! Not some impostor!"

"You guys can't be serious." Tatsuki said. Her voice filled shock and disbelief and a little of pain.

She turned to Orihime. "Orihime. We've known each other for years. Look in my eyes and tell me that I'm not who I say I am."

Orihime unable to face her, turned away.

Tatsuki turned to Ichigo and pleaded, "Ichigo, we've known each other even longer. How can you say that I'm an impostor?"

Mizuiro added, "Why are you guys doing this? We haven't done anything."

"We know your lying. Yoruichi saw Grimmjow's conversation with Tatsuki. A conversation in which he named you two. So why don't you tells us the truth. Are you even the people who claim to be? And what is your mission here?" Hitsugaya said.

There was no salvaging the situation. Now it was time to end this game.

"It seems that no matter what we say, you won't believe us." he said.

He put one hand on his face and sighed while the other hand slid into his pocket. Grabbing a small device about the size and shade of a chap-stick container, he said, "Alright then, enough of the games. If you want the truth, then... YOUR GONNA HAVE TO CATCH US FIRST!"

In one fast motion, he pulled out the device and throw at the ground. It exploded in loud bang and a bright flash. The device would temporally blind and deafen all non-arrancar near it for a few minutes and would also rob them of their ability to sense reiatsu for at least half an hour.

They quickly pushed a blind and deaf Chad away from the door. They quickly made their why down the stairs and out the school. They made it two blocks away from the when they decided to open a Garganta. Mizuiro raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. Only to have nothing happen. He tried again, no luck. Keigo and Tatsuki tried to open one, again no luck.

Then he realized what was stopping them, Urahara.

He turned to his comrades and said, "Well it looks like Urahara came up with a means to block our ability to open up a Garganta. I guess it's time for plan B."

Feral grins spread across all of their faces as they started to run. Finally it was time for some fun.

"Dammit! Where are they?!" Ichigo cursed.

This whole situation had become aggravating. That thing that Mizuiro or the person masquerading as him threw, had stung his eyes and ears horribly. And stripped him of his ability to sense reiatsu, of course chances are he wouldn't have been able to sense anything unless it was close to him or it was a massive amount of reiatsu. Though he wouldn't admit it anyone.

His thoughts were raging like a storm in his head. If they were brainwashed, then how would they break Aizen's brainwashing? Would they even be able to? Or if they had be replaced, what happened to the real Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro? Were they being held somewhere here or were they at Aizen's base of operations? Then came the two most horrifying thoughts of all. Had Aizen tortured them? And even worse, were they still alive?

Hitsugaya and Rangiku were in the air looking for some sigh of them. While the rest of them had ran outside the school and were waiting for directions. The two dropped from the sky and Hitsugaya pointed and, "We spotted them. They went this way."

Without saying anything, the group of soul reapers and humans sped off that direction.

_'Please let them be alright.'

* * *

_

10 minutes later

They had chased them down to a residential district. Both Keigo and Mizuiro were leaning on a parked car, trying to catch their breath while Tatsuki stood next to them.

"Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro or whoever you three are, you can't escape. Just surrender." Ichigo said.

The three of them stared at Ichigo and the others for a moment before they responded. Tatsuki simply raised her arm and pointed behind them.

Everyone turned around, only to see a barrage of balas racing towards them. There wasn't enough time to dodge the barrage, but thankfully Orihime just barely summoned her shield.

The bala after bala exploded on the shield, but the shield held. Finally it stopped, the attackers were hidden by the smoke of the explosions. They heard Keigo's voice say, "Wow, that's an impressive shield you got there. Still standing after all those balas. Not many things can do that."

Instinctively, everyone looked behind to see Keigo, Tatsuki and Mizuiro still standing behind them. Then they heard Tatsuki's voice call out, "Behind you."

It wasn't coming from the Tatsuki standing in front of them but rather from behind them. Ichigo slowly turned around, fearing what he would see.

The smoke had cleared from the shield, revealing three arrancar. Three arrancar they knew. Three arrancar that had the faces of Tatsuki Arisawa, Mizuiro Kojima, and Keigo Asano.

* * *

And chapter 4 is done! Though I'm not completely satisfied with. Mainly the scene at Urahara's. I felt I just couldn't get it right and thats the main reason this chapter took so long. In fact I still don't completely like that scene and will probably rewrite that part at later date. I just to get this chapter posted so I could start work on the next one. I don't know maybe I'm just crazy. You tell me.

Cause this chapter was late. I decided to give the fans of this story a little bonus. The names and release commands of their zanpaku-tos. The weapons' appearances will obviously be in the next chapter.

Tatsuki: Impale Verdugo (Executioner)

Mizuiro: Consume Plaga (Plague)

Keigo: Soar Plumado Serpiente (Feathered Serpent)

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Yo everybody. Sorry, it took a lot longer then I expected to write this chapter.

shea-aeront: I'm not giving up any big spoilers like that. So your gonna have to wait and see.

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Orihime felt numb. All she could do is stare, complete obvious to everything. She was unaware of the reactions of the others. Nor was she aware that her shield was beginning to flicker, its power weakening as her will crumbled. All she was aware of was the three arrancar standing before her.

Mizuiro had a bored expression on his face, like nothing here really matter. He wore the standard white hakama, black sash, white sandals and black socks. But his jacket was unique. It was like a white trenchcoat with black trim and a high collar that reached the tip of his nose. The sleeves were baggy and loose but not as much as the normal uniform of the soul reapers. The jacket was zipped from his waist to the base of his neck, leaving the collar open, exposing the hollow hole in the center of his throat. His hollow mask covered his forehead and reached slightly down the sides of his head, with three small yellow glowing eyes in an inverted triangle formation in the middle. Resting in the left side of his sash was his zanpaku-to. Which was a saber, with a black grip, gold guard and finger guard, in a dark purple sheath. (looks like King Bradley's, from Fullmetal Alchemist, swords)

Keigo had the same goofy grin on his face, that he often wore but there was something dark about it. Something that unsettled Orihime. His mask consisted of a pair of triangular pieces on both cheeks and a pair of fangs hanging from each ear like earrings. Like Mizuiro, he too wore the standard hakama, socks and sandals. In place of the cloth sash, he had a black leather belt. Tucked in on both sides of the belt was his zanpaku-to, a pair of kamas. The kamas looked like they weren't made of metal but rather appeared to be highly polished bone with black bandages wrapped around the handles. The heads of the kamas were shaped like a bird's skull with the blades resembling the skulls' beaks. Oddly the were attached to his belt by small silver chains. He wore a coat similar to Grimmjow's. Except his reached his waist, it's sleeves weren't rolled up and it was zipped up.

Then there was Tatsuki, standing in the middle of the trio, wearing the same feral grin from her nightmare. Her hollow mask dominated the right side of her face with what looked like a bloody red half X painted on the right side of the mask's eye hole. Just like her expression, her zanpaku-to was just like the one from her nightmare. Expect now it was in a black sheath on her back like Hitsugaya's, with the same red spiral design as her sword's handle running down the sheath. Like the others, she wore the standard arrancar hakama, sandals and socks. Her jacket was similar to Ichigo's Bankai jacket. The collar exposed less of the neckline then Ichigo's, while the opening at bottom of the front of the coat showed off her mid-drift, revealing her hollow hole. Additionally, her sleeves ended a third of the way down her forearm and the bottom of the coat lacked the ripped and frayed look that Ichigo's had.

She heard Ichigo with Zangetsu drawn, yelled out, "Impostors! You three aren't them! Stop wearing their faces!"

Yes. Ichigo was right! This couldn't be her best friend. This couldn't be Tatsuki. It had to be some kind of impostor or trick. Her shield stopped flickering, her resolve restored.

Orihime watched as the expressions on the arrancars' faces change to one of amusement. The one masquerading as Keigo said, "Even after seeing our new forms, you still don't believe it's us Ichigo."

"You're not Keigo!" Ichigo shouted back.

Keigo impersonator rolled his eyes and was about respond when the Tatsuki impersonator started to walk towards the shield and began to speak. "So you want some proof of we are?" A dark chuckle escaped her lips. "Ichigo, do you remember the first time we met? Your mother brought you to the dojo when we were both four. Back then you were always smiling and clinging to your mommy. In other words, you looked like a total wimp back then."

Orihime's heart skipped a beat. She remembered Tatsuki telling her this story last June. Yet this arrancar knew it.

_'Could it actually be Tatsuki...No it can't be. But she knows how they met...'_

Uncertainty filled her mind as the shield began to flicker again. The arrancar was now standing right in front of the shield, the feral grin was back on her face as she continued telling her story. "In fact, I was first one to make you cry at the dojo. One high kick and you were bawling like little baby, until your mommy came. It was always like that until your mother became a snack for the Grand Fisher. Oh, speaking of him. You'll be happy to know Ichigo, that he's dead. Killed by a rather surprising individual."

Ichigo choked out, "Tatsuki?"

She nodded and said, "Finally the blind can see."

Mizuiro added, "Keigo and I are also who we say we are. Or would you like us to recite some past event to prove our identities as well, like how we first met or something that?"

Orihime fell to her knees, her eyes watering, her shield faded away. There was no denying it any longer. They were Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro.

* * *

A million thoughts and questions raced through Ichigo's head as Tatsuki turned around and walked back to where Keigo and Mizuiro were standing. Somehow, he managed to ask, "Why...why were you made in arrancar?"

Tatsuki stopped walking and glanced back. "Not sure. You'd have to ask Aizen. Though it's probably to get back at you or something like that. Personally, we don't care. In fact we should you probably thank you and Rukia."

"What?!" Ichigo couldn't believe what Tatsuki said. Because of him, Aizen abducted them, killed them, turned them into hollows, then arrancar and now they were thanking him!

A grinning Keigo replied, "Yep. Rukia loaning you her power started a chain of events that caused to us become arrancar." He turned to Mizuiro and asked, "Does Hallmark have 'Thank You' cards for this kinda thing?"

The three snickered at Keigo's remark, before Mizuiro replied, "Nah, I don't think they have a 'Thank you. Because of you, I have become more powerful then I have ever dreamed.' card. And before you ask, no I don't think they'll accept any idea you come up with."

"Aww. I had some good ideas too. Like-"

"Enough." a slightly irritated Tatsuki said. "We have a little mess to deal with here first."

Hitsugaya asked the question that Ichigo wanted to ask yet at the same time feared. "Why are working for Aizen? And what is your mission here?"

Mizuiro answered in a casual tone. "Our mission was simple. To be Aizen's eyes and ears in the world of the living. To monitor the activities of you and your team Captain Hitsugaya and of course our former friends from when we were human and that quincy, Uryu, who seems to have disappeared from the face of the Earth."

Ichigo felt like a rusted, jagged knife was thrust into his heart when Mizuiro said 'our former friends from when we were human'. As much as it hurt him, he knew it hurt Orihime more then anyone else. Tatsuki was one of his oldest friends. But for Orihime, Tatsuki was her best friend, who protected her from bullies, girl-crazy boys (and a few girls) and just about anyone else who threatened her.

"As to why we are working for Aizen. Well why not? As it stands, he's gonna win this war and ascend to godhood. Why not fight for him and reap the rewards? And also we also serve Aizen because he is strong. And one thing we learned in Hueco Mundo above all else is. In this world, in all the worlds, the strong will always rule over the weak."

A flood of emotions surged though Ichigo. Shock, sorrow, and horror at what his friends had become, guilt at not being there to protect them, and anger at Aizen for what he did.

_'I hope there's a special place in hell reserved for you Aizen.'_

"Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro. Urahara can fix you, make you human again." In all honesty, he didn't know if Urahara actually could, but anyone could, it was Urahara.

The response he received wasn't what he expected. To his growing horror, they laughed hysterically at him. A minute or two later the laughter finally subsided and Keigo said, "Wow, and people say you don't have a sense of humor Ichigo."

A smirk crossed Tatsuki's face as she said, "Nice offer. But why would we want to go back to being mere humans? Why would we want to give up this wonderful gift?"

"Gift?!!" Ichigo was now furious, not at Tatsuki and the others, but at Aizen for turning three of the people he cared about into these monsters. And he vowed that he would send Aizen to deepest, blackest part of hell for what did. "You call what you've become a gift?!"

"We do." Mizuiro answered. "But that doesn't really matter now. What matters is what we do right now. You have two choices right now. The easy way, where you cancel out what ever is blocking our ability to return to Hueco Mundo, we leave and the night ends with everybody in one piece. Or-"

"No way in hell!" Ichigo interrupted. "I'm not gonna let you make the biggest mistake of your lives by returning to Aizen!"

An irritated Mizuiro replied, "OK, first let me finish talking. I hate people that interrupt others. Now as I was saying, or we can do things the hard way. I imagine that you all know what means."

Ichigo hesitated. What Mizuiro said could only mean one thing. The three of them were prepared to fight them to escape. Ichigo on the other hand wasn't. Despite what they had become, they were still his friends. And he would never forgive himself if he killed them. Of course he didn't know what would happen if he killed them. Would their souls purified like holllows or would they cease to exist? He couldn't take the chance.

Renji snickered and said, "Your joking, right? It's four against one in our favor. There's no way you can win."

Just about everyone sweatdropped. Keigo said, "Are you seriously a lieutenant? There's nine of you and three of us, that's three against one. What kinda of lieutenant, outside of maybe Squad Eleven, can't do simple math?"

Renji's eyes twitched. "I know that!"

"Then why did you say four against one?"

Renji's eyes twitched even more and mumbled something.

Keigo put a hand to his ear and said, "What was that? I didn't hear that."

Renji looked absolutely pissed now. He raised his zanpaku-to, his intention clear. Before Ichigo or anyone could stop him, he shouted "Roar Zabimaru!"

His zanpaku-to shot out towards Keigo, who stood there, grinning. At the last second, Keigo grabbed his right kama, raised it to defect the attack, breaking the chain that held it in the process. Blade met blade, and to the surprise of all the soul reapers and humans present, Keigo successfully defected the attack and was now holding the top segment of Zabimaru in his left hand. During the whole time his grin never falter in the slightest. "Now that wasn't very nice. I just asked you to repeat what you said. I don't think that warrants an attack. But if you wanna play, that's fine with me."

Keigo raised his kama again and slashed the cords that connected the top segment to the next segment, separating the two. The blade retracted back to the hilt, while Keigo tossed the top segment at Renji's feet.

Hitsugaya calmly said, "His math may have been off, but he was right. Your outnumbered and I highly doubt that the three of you can beat all of us. So why not surrender and save us all some trouble?"

Mizuiro rolled his eyes. "True, few arrancar would be able to beat all of you at the same time. But do you really think we wouldn't have been prepared for this kind of situation?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bunch of small black cubes. "That's why we have this."

He threw the cubes at Ichigo and the others. Ichigo raised Zangetsu, ready to defect the cubes away, when Orihime's shield suddenly reformed. Several of the cubes hit the shield, creating an intense light, forcing everyone to cover their eyes.

When light faded, Ichigo saw Orihime, still on her knees with tears pouring down her cheeks, yet somehow she had summoned her shield. He turned to Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo and for the first time, looks of surprise and shock on their faces. Mizuiro said with shock in his voice, "Impossible... The Caja Negacion should have consumed them, shield and all."

Tatsuki, having regained her composure, said, "It doesn't matter. It worked on four of them. Making the odds much better."

Ichigo looked around and saw that the four people standing furtherest away from Orihime were gone. Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Ikkaku and Yumichika were gone.

"Where the hell are they?" Ichigo said, turning to Mizuiro. "What did you do to them?"

"Hmm...? Oh that was the Caja Negacion, the Negation Box. It's actually used by the Espada to punish their subordinates. Basically, it simulates negacion field, you know what Aizen, Gin and Tosen used to escape the Soul Society. They will remain their until we let them out. Though captain Hitsugaya is probably strong enough to escape from it on his own in a couple of hours."

Tatsuki added, "As to why they were effected and the rest of you weren't. It's simple, the shield wasn't large enough. As you can see, it's barely covering the five of you."

Orihime voice suddenly called out, "Please Tatsuki don't do this. It isn't you."

But Tatsuki completely ignored her. Keigo said, "Four against three. I like those odds." Tatsuki and Mizuiro nodded in agreement.

"Ha! Now whose math is bad! There's five of us, not four!" Renji said in a 'I'm better than you' tone.

The three arrancar laughed at Renji. Keigo replied, "You idiot. I said it's four against three. I never said that there was only four of you."

Tatsuki added, "We actually only considered four of you a threat. Ichigo, you and tattoo face both have achieved bankai and are the strongest among you. Rukia is about the level of a fourth seat, maybe a third seat. Chad is built like tank, extremely durable and physically strong. That leaves the fifth and weakest one here, Orihime. She's barely stronger then a normal human who can see spirits and hollows. Which means, she's a step above all the insects of this world. A weakling like her isn't even worth our time to talk to, much less fight. In fact, she has no actual fighting ability. She just hides behind others and that shield of hers. A pathetic weakling, nothing more."

Orihime's shield collapsed, as a stunned silence filled the soul reapers and human. To hear Tatsuki say that about Orihime, was a shock beyond any that had happened so far. Ichigo couldn't think of anyway to respond save to mentally curse Aizen again.

Tatsuki suddenly disappeared in a static buzz and reappeared in front of Orihime and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. She grinned as she raised Orihime off the ground and again disappeared and reappeared. Now she was standing back with Keigo and Mizuiro, still holding Orihime. Ichigo instinctively charged forward, barely aware that Chad, Rukia, and Renji running along side him. All he cared about stopping them, saving Orihime and trying to find a way to fix them, for the lack of a better term.

They had gotten only a few steps when a crimson mist surged towards them. Wisely, they leaped back away from the mist. They watched a parked car become partially consumed by the mist, before it dissipated. The part of the car that had been touched by the mist had been turned into a puddle of melted metal and plastic.

Mizurio coughed and rubbed his throat. "Ugh. That always irritates my throat in this form."

But Ichigo pretty much ignored him, his attention focused on Tatsuki and Orihime. Tatsuki was saying something to Orihime, but her voice was too low for Ichigo hear what she was saying. Then Orihime replied, again it was too quiet for anyone outside of Tatsuki to hear what was said. What ever Orihime said, clearly pissed Tatsuki off. As she punched Orihime in the face, then delivered a kick to her stomach, sending Orihime flying towards them, while Tatsuki briefly rubbed her left eye. Ichigo dove and just barely caught her before she hit them pavement. Orihime appeared to be unconscious but otherwise fine.

"Rukia." he called out, gaze fixed on Tatsuki and others. There was no sigh of any remorse or guilt or shame in faces. It sicken Ichigo. He now knew what happened to them. They suffered the fate that he barely escaped when was he was training with the vizards. Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizurio had been dominated by their dark selves, their inner hollows and become the monsters standing before them.

"Yes Ichigo?" Rukia replied, now standing next to him.

"Take Orihime somewhere safe, then get back here as soon as you can." he said as he passed Orihime's unconscious body to Rukia, his gaze never leaving the arrancar.

Rukia nodded and carried Orihime way.

"The time for talk is over." Tstsuki said, snapping her knuckles. Ichigo simply nodded and tightened his grip on Zangetsu. "I want fight Ichigo, you two can have the others."

Mizurio nodded. "Of course. I also take it, you want us to clear out out of the area." Tatsuki nodded back at him. "Fine, I'll take Chad."

"Hey! Why do I get soul reaper leftovers!"

"What?! What did you call me?!" An irritated Renji asked.

Mizuiro sighed. "Keigo, you keep on picking fights him so you might as well fight him. And at least he's got a bankai."

Mizuiro disappeared and reappeared behind Chad, grabbed his shoulder and said, "Besides, you don't really have a choice." And he disappeared again, taking Chad with him.

Keigo sighed. "Alright, let's go Mr... Ah what's your name anyway tattoo face?"

"My name is Renji Abarai, Lieutenant of Squad-"

"Enough." Keigo interrupted. "I just wanted your name not your life story tattoo face."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

Keigo smirked. "Then catch me tattoo face."

Keigo turned and soindoed to the roof of a house half a block away, and shouted "Whatcha waiting for?!"

Renji was about to flash step after him, (can Renji flash step?) when Ichigo called to him, "Renji, please don't kill Keigo."

Renji grimly nodded at Ichigo and flash stepped towards Keigo, who was on the move again.

Tatsuki crossed her arms and said, "Ichigo, use your bankai, otherwise you'll just be insulting both of us."

Ichigo could see the logic in use his bankai, but at the same time, he couldn't. He feared killing Tatsuki. Despite what she had become, he knew that somewhere in there was Tatsuki he knew. He just had to find a way to reach her, to free her from the grasp of her inner hollow. The only way to do that was to beat her and bring her to Urahara.

Deciding against releasing his bankai, Ichigo charged at her. He slashed her diagonally across the chest. Or at least that's what should have happened. Instead, Zangetsu was resting on Tatsuki's left shoulder, her uniform wasn't even damaged.

"There are only three ways you can penetrate my hierro, is by either using your bankai, or by attacking me with pure intent to kill or using that mask of yours."

Tatsuki kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. She sonidoed behind him and punched his back, sending Ichigo forward. Tatsuki sonidoed in front of his path and delivered a tremendous uppercut to his face, sending him into the air. Only to be sent moments later, flying back to Earth after being on the receiving end of an axe kick to the head. He crashed into the pavement, leaving a large crater in the middle of the road.

Ichigo struggled to stand up, blood dripping from a cut on the middle of his forehead.

_'Damn. Tatsuki always hit hard before but now her strength is nuts. I'm gonna have to use bankai. There's no other way.'_

Ichigo got to his feet. "C'mon Ichigo." Tatsuki said, standing about two stories up in the air in front of him. "Your stronger then this. Don't hold back just because it's me. It's insulting. Stop thinking I'm weak. Think of it as sparring match we used to have when we were younger. Go ahead and release your-"

"Dance Sode no Shirayuki! First dance, white moon!"

Tatsuki looked down and saw the white circle underneath her. She raised her arms in defense.

She yelled, "Shit...!!" as she was frozen in a pillar of ice.

Rukia rushed to Ichigo's side. "Are you alright Ichigo?"

Ichigo turned to her and nodded. "I'll be fine. We have to help the-"

_crack...crack...crack...CRACK!_

The ice pillar shattered, revealing an annoyed Tatsuki. Her gaze was fixed on Rukia. "Rukia, you really shouldn't interrupt someone else's fight. So why don't you sit down and watch."

"That's not gonna happened Tatsuki." Rukia raised her sword and said, "Second da-"

But Tatsuki fired off balas at two of them before she could finish the command. Ichigo leaped to the side, while Rukia jumped back. Ichigo looked up, only to see that Tatsuki was gone.

_'Where is she?'_

His head darted back and forth, looking for some sigh of Tatsuki. He glanced at Rukia's direction, only to see Tatsuki appear behind Rukia, with her sword drawn.

Everything seemed to slow to a crawl. Ichigo yelled out to warn Rukia, who having heard the buzz of Tatsuki's sonido, started to turn. But she was too slow as Tatsuki slashed her back. Somehow Rukia managed to turn around and block Tatsuki's second strike with her zanpaku-to.

Unfortunately, Rukia's specialty was in kido, not swordsmanship and she lacked Tatsuki's physical strength. Even with one hand on the handle of the blade and the other pressed against the back of blade, near it's tip. Rukia was no match for Tatsuki with only one hand holding her zanpaku-to. Tatsuki forced Rukia to one knee, then kicked her in face. But she didn't let Rukia hit the ground. Instead, Tatsuki grabbed Rukia's right arm with her free left hand, and squeezed. There was a loud snap, followed by Rukia's screams of pain and her sword falling to the ground. Tatsuki sheathed her sword and grabbed Rukia's left arm. But before she could break it too, Ichigo yelled, "BANKAI! Tensa Zangetsu!"

Tatsuki grinned. "Finally! Now the fight can begin!"

"Put her down Tatsuki."

"As you wish." Tatsuki said, before slamming Rukia onto the hood of a nearby parked car, rendering her unconscious.

The two combatants charged at each other. Ichigo with Zangetsu raised in the air, Tatsuki with her fists ready to strike.

* * *

That's it for now. Sorry taking so long with this chapter but I reworked it a couple of times before I came up with this version. Originally, the first half of the chapter was just talking and the second half would be the first chuck of all three fights. But I just didn't like the way it was set up and began to rework to this version. The other reason for the delay was that I was catching up on my manga reading, including the latest chapters of Bleach. And all I have to say is damn that one creepy ability Granz has. Though I don't believe Nemu is dead, because she's a mod soul in gigai basically and Mayuri said that she can survive fatal blows. Can't wait to Mayuri kick his ass.

The next chapter probably won't be out till after New Year's. If you think you hate Tatsuki and others now, wait till the next chapter.

Also I'm thinking of starting another story, just so this one doesn't become a pain to write. It's a Naruto story with a slight Bleach crossover. It starts after the Wave arc but before the Chunin exams. Basically the Konoha twelve receive zanpaku-tos. There will be no hollows, soul reapers, etc and the storyline of Bleach isn't part of this story. Though I will turn some of the kido spells into jutsus and I will explain in the stories about the zanpaku-tos. It will stay mostly cannon to the first part of Naruto till the end of the Search for Tsunade arc. The time skip will happen but none of the members of team 7 will train under the sanin during that time. I'm also thinking of working the vizards into the story, the race, not the characters. All the zanpaku-tos I'll use are preexisting ones, mainly because I'm too lazy to create 12 new zanpak-tos. And the previous owners of the zanpaku-to will make appearances.

Here's the list of who get who's zanpaku-tos.

Naruto: Shunsui

Sasuke: Ukitake

Rock Lee: Ikkaku

Tenten: Soifon

Ino: Yumichika

Choji: Sajin

Shikamaru: Gin

Hinata: Rukia

Shino: Mayuri

Kiba: Renji

The last two I'm still deciding on, tell me what you think.

Sakura: Aizen, Tosen or Rangiku

Neji: Byakuya or Hitsugaya

Please Review!


	6. Chapter 6

Yo! I wanna thank everybody for the reviews for the last chapter. Cause of the response from the last, I plan to write one more chapter after this one before I write the first few chapters for my Naruto story, unless I happen to get a major brainstorm for this story or a lot of reviews telling me to continue writing this. I will return to this story after I have posted the first couple of chapters and flip between the two stories.

Speaking of my Naruto story. I have decided on Sakura's zanpaku-to. At first, thought of giving her Rangiku's, cause I could have a lot of fun with the two. But as I began think up and expand on the story of the 13 Court Guards in my story. I found myself wanting to include Aizen's betrayal, all be an altered version of it. And at the same time felt that Sakura should get a captain's zanpaku-to. So I decided to give her Aizen's.

Also, I still haven't quite decided on Neji's, though I am leaning sligthly towards Byakuya. But I can go either way. You tell me.

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach. If I did, Aizen probably would have done something like this.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Renji was getting annoyed as jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Chasing after this punk was growing old, fast. Especially considering he wasn't the best at flash steps. True, he wasn't on par with captain Kuchiki or Yoruichi, but there where at least four or five of his fellow lieutenants that were better at it then he was.

Keigo glanced back and yelled out, "C'mon tattoo face! Would you like me to slow down for you?!"

The taunting wasn't helping either. And that nickname. Oh how he hated that name.

"Maybe I should walk! That should be slow enough for you!"

"Maybe I should break your legs! That'll slow you down!" he yelled back.

"You'd have to catch me first in order to do that tattoo face!" Keigo retorted.

Renji smirked. "Guess you forgot about my zanpaku-to! Roar Zabimaru!"

Zabimaru shot out at Keigo's legs. It almost reached him, when he sonidoed away at the last second.

Keigo was now standing to his left on the roof of a house across the street. "No, I didn't forget about it. I was simply waiting till we far enough away from the others. Now we can fight without worrying about any interference. And it looks like we're in familiar setting." he said, pointing in front of him.

Renji turned to the right. There, a block away was an apartment complex. The one that Ikkaku and Yumichika were staying at. But why was he mentioning it?

A moment later he remembered. Keigo and his family lived there. But again why mention it?

Keio lunged at Renji, both kamas in his hands. Renji raised Zabimaru and blocked the attack. Keigo's kamas were pressed against the side of Zabimaru, neither were able to overpower the other.

"Hn. Is this the best you got arrancar? If it is, then I'll beat you with no difficultly what so ever." Renji gloated.

A grin spread across Keigo's face. "Oh? Is that what you think, tattoo face? Let me tell you something. I haven't been fighting at full strength. Or using my full speed for that matter."

Keigo disappeared with a static buzz and reappeared behind him and attacked. Renji barely managed follow him and block the attack.

"Not bad. But I can still keep up with you."

Keigo's grin grew wider. Again he sonidoed, but this time, the arrancar was too fast for him to keep up and pain shot through his back as two cuts opened up on his back.

"How about now?"

The arrancar was taunting him. The cuts were shallow, but that wasn't the point. He was too fast for him to keep up with.

There was only one thing Renji could do if he wanted to beat him. "BANKAI! Hihio Zabimaru!"

Keigo leap back from the sudden burst of reiatsu and smoke that filled the air. The smoke cleared, revealing the large skeletal snake form of Zabimaru. Keigo stared at it for a moment. "Wow. Now that's a little nostalgic." he said before turning his gaze back to Renji. "Let's see whatcha got."

With a flick of his wrist, Zabimaru's head shot out towards the arrancar. Keigo leap out of the way, while Renji barely stopped Zabimaru from tearing through the roof of the house Keigo had been standing on.

"What's the matter tattoo face? Afraid of hurting the vermin that live here?" Keigo asked from a neighboring rooftop.

Renji didn't say anything. Instead, his zanpaku-to shot out again at the arrancar. This time however Keigo sonidoed way from the attack. And again Renji stopped Zabimaru from crashing through the roof.

This time however, Keigo used Renji's pause for stopping his zanpaku-to to attack him from his left side. Renji countered by hitting him with a part of Zabimaru's tail that was still coiled around his feet, sending the arrancar flying backwards. Before Keigo could regain his composure, Renji send the head of his bankai, it's mouth closed, at Keigo and hit him head on. Driving him into the street below, leaving Keigo laying in a small crater.

As he started to pick himself up, Renji with a confidant smirk, "If that's all you got, you might as well surrender. My Hihio Zabimaru is too big for you to beat. I can use it to attack you and protect myself at the same time. How do you plan to beat that? Especially with those puny kamas of yours."

Keigo looked up and had his own confident smirk on his face. "It's not the size that counts, it's what it does."

Keigo's grip on his kamas shifted from the handles to the broken chains and started spinning the kamas. As he did, to Renji's surprise, the chains grew longer. He threw them at Renji, and to his growing surprise, the chains continued to grow.

Renji raised a section of Zabimaru to defend himself, only to have the kamas move, like it had a mind of it's own, around the lengths of Zabimaru and slash him across the chest.

The kamas returned to Keigo, who said, "You like my kamas. They have the ability to extend, similar to your zanpaku-to but it also moves by my will, without any movement on my part. That's how it moved around your oversized zanpaku-to with such speed. So what were you saying about my 'puny' kamas tattoo face?"

Renji's right eye twitched. He really hated that nickname.

He didn't say anything, instead he waved his arm and sent Zabimaru again at Keigo, who was still smirking. Keigo threw his kamas again. This time they wrapped around Zabimaru's head and several connecting segments and drove it into a nearby parked car, tearing through the car and into the pavement beneath it.

Before he could pull Zabimaru back, the kamas let go of his zanpaku-to and shot towards him.

'_Crap!'_

Renji raised his left arm to block the attack. He screamed as the kama blades impaled his left forearm.

He pulled Zabimaru back and in the process, it dislodged the kamas from his arm.

Renji glanced at his injured arm. The wounds weren't fatal, but his arm was pretty much useless for fighting until he could get it healed.

This was getting interesting. At first, he thought this punk was gonna be annoying to fight but in the end, would prove to be no real challenge against his bankai. Instead, the arrancar was holding his own against him and has effectively disable his arm. He had to finish this quickly, before a civilian got caught in the crossfire. The longer the fight dragged on, the more likely a bystander could get hurt. It looked like he was gonna have to make a call or else things could get messy.

Fighting back the pain, he reached into his pocket with his left hand. He pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial. As he put it to his ear, the kamas surged towards him. He barely blocked them with his bankai.

Renji stared at the kamas embedded in his zanpaku-to and smirked. "Nice try-"

Suddenly his cell phone exploded, slightly burning his left ear and hand.

He turned to Keigo, who had a cocky grin on his face. His left hand was at his side, holding both chains. His right arm was up in the air, his right index and middle fingers pointed at Renji, with a small trail of smoke rising from them. "Didn't see that coming did ya? You thought I had have a chain in each hand in order to use my kamas' ability, didn't ya tattoo face?"

"I was more surprised when you destroyed my phone. The other arrancar believed that they could beat

me at full power. I figured your just as cocky." he replied.

Keigo laughed and said, "I'm cocky, but I'm not stupid. I know about the seal that limits your power in this world. I'm not like Grimmjow's thugs or like many of the others that were sent here, I'm more then willing to fight you while your at less then full strength. It makes things easier for me."

_'Damn. I was hoping he would be like all the others. Cocky enough in his own abilities and strength to believe that he could beat me even with my seal released. Hopefully, Rukia will make the call before long or this could get bad.'_

Keigo leaped onto Zabimaru, exactly where his kamas were stuck, pulled them out and leap away as Renji tried to counterattack him.

"Well, I've disabled one arm, let's see how many other limbs I can get." Keigo said before charging the soul reaper, his kamas raised and ready to strike.

Renji swung Zabimaru at the arrancar. He had to finish this quickly before this night got any worse.

* * *

Elsewhere

Chad shook his head, trying to clear his head. This was the first time he ever traveled by flash step or whatever the arrancar called their version. And needless to say he didn't like it. It left him disoriented and a little sick to his stomach.

He looked around at his surroundings. He was in a park. He was familiar with this park, but couldn't remember it's name. He did remember that this park was about six or seven blocks from where Ichigo and the others were.

And there was something else. Something worse. There were people, mostly kids and teenagers, walking around the park. Things could get really bad, really fast.

He turned to where Mizurio was standing. Mizurio was calmly standing there, like he was waiting for him to recover.

"For someone who's built like a rock, you sure don't handle sonidos very well."

Chad knew what was going to happen. They were going to fight. Thought of using his fists against a friend, even in the state he was in, felt like a betrayal of his Abuelo and all he taught him.

"I don't suppose I can ask you to surrender Mizuiro?" a weary Chad asked, hoping that he could reason with his friend.

"No. I don't suppose I can ask you to stand down?" Mizuiro replied.

"No."

"Well then. We have a problem."

"Mizuiro, I'm sorry."

"Are you apologizing to me because I became an arrancar, and you see it as partially your fault?"

"No."

_'Forgive me Abuelo for what I must do.'_

Mizuiro raised an eyebrow. "Then why?"

"This." Chad replied as he raised his transforming right arm (the second version of his right arm he earned after training with Renji, not the shield arm) and sent a blast of energy at him.

Mizuiro responded by firing a cero. The two shots collided and exploded, leaving a crater in the ground between them.

"Not bad Chad. But you're gonna have to try harder."

"Please Mizuiro, surrender. I don't want to fight you." he pleaded.

"Sorry, but that's not gonna happen. If you want this to end without any violence, then stop whatever is preventing us from returning to Hueco Mundo." Mizuiro replied.

"Can't do that."

"Can't or won't?" Mizuiro asked in an annoyed tone.

"Both."

"Then this can not end peacefully." Mizuiro said before firing a cero at him.

Chad rolled out of the cero's path while firing off another energy blast which Mizuiro dodged as well.

Thankfully, both hit trees and exploded away from anyone. But longer they were fighting here, the greater the danger was to everyone in the area.

He had to end this before someone got hurt.

As Chad stood up, Mizuiro raised both of his arms, his palms facing him and fired a barrage of belas at him. Most exploded around him, while several hit him directly, pushing him back.

When the barrage stopped, Mizuiro smiled a smile that was frighteningly similar to the smiles that Mizuiro usual wore before all this happened.

"I'll tell you a little secret that stays between us. I have the fastest belas and ceros outside of the top four Espada. So don't tell anyone, especially any of the Espada. Most of them are paranoid about Keigo, Tatsuki and myself. They seem think we're planning to replace them." Mizuiro's smile turned to a dark grin. "Of course, they're right. I wonder they'll react when we deliver four soul reapers, including a captain, to Aizen."

"Don't do this. It isn't you Mizuiro."

Mizuiro's expression changed to one of irritation. "It is now. I ceased being the weak, pathetic human being I was before, when I died and was reborn. I now see how disgusting and pathetic the majority of the human race truly is. Don't get me wrong, there are a handful of people, yourself included, that deserve to called human beings."

His expression changed again, this time to disgust, "But the rest are just vermin. Worse than vermin actually. They're violent, greedy and stupid. They fight each other over land, natural resources, or because their leaders or "gods" say so. And they call hollows and arrancar evil and vile."

"Let me ask you this. Do you think it will stay that way if Aizen become a god? No, it's not just the Soul Society that will change when it happens, this world will as well. It will become a better place, and maybe the vermin of this world will become worthy of being call humans. Then again, they may just remain vermin." He chuckled and added, "I'm starting to sound like a fanatic, despite the fact I'm not. I don't really care about this world or the vermin that inhabit it. Well then shall we continue?"

To hear Mizuiro, a boy who never said a hate-filled thing in his life, say such thing, was like someone pulling out his heart and stomping it. Chad couldn't help be feel guilty about what happened to all three of them. If only he and others told them about their powers, the Soul Society, Aizen and everything else. Maybe things would have turned differently. Maybe they would have resisted what Aizen did to them. Maybe they would have fought and beaten the darkness that wrapped their minds. Maybe...

Chad's thought were interrupted by a cero slamming into his chest. It flying backwards, stumbling over some bushes and rolled down the side of the hill he wasn't aware they were on.

He managed to stop at the foot of the hill as he bumped into two small people, likely children. As he got up, his stare focused on the hill, he said, "Sorry for bumping into to you, but you have to leave now.

"What?!" a familiar voice shouted out. "What's going on here?!"

Chad turned his head. He gasped, behind him were two young girls. Girls he knew. They were Ichigo's younger sisters, Karin and Yuzu.

The two had no doubt decided to walk through the park on their way home from school and because of that decision, the two of them are now in grave danger.

Before he could say anything, another cero flew through the bushes at them. Chad quickly knocked the girls down and covered them with his body, shielding the girls from the blast.

The cero slammed into his back. It hurt, but he had experienced worse. Both girls were unharmed but were now panicking. Out of the two, Karin was panicking the least. She had at least some understanding of what was going on, having been there when he first gained his powers.

Karin asked in a weak voice. "Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"It's one of those hollow things, isn't it?"

"No. It's much worse." he replied.

Yuzu, confused and scared, asked "Hollows? I don't understand? What's going on?"

"Nows not the time for that. You have to-"

He was interrupted when Karin gasped and her eyes bulged out. Mizuiro was close enough that his spiritual pressure was effecting her. To a person of Chad's spiritual power level, it wasn't powerful enough to effect him. But to Karin, one who could only see and sense spirits, it was suffocating.

"Karin? What's wrong?" Yuzu asked her petrified sister.

At that moment, Mizuiro stepped through the bushes. He stared at the trio for a moment before saying, "Chad, why don't you tell Ichigo's sisters to leave. Worms don't interest me."

"Mizuiro?" Karin stammered out.

"What? Where? I don't see him." a confused and scared Yuzu said as she looked around.

Mizuiro raised an eyebrow and stared at Karin. "So you can see me. Here I thought only two-er I mean just Ichigo had any spiritual power in your family. I'll rephrase that. A worm and one too weak to pose any kind of threat doesn't interest me. So why do you take sister and get out of my sight before I change my mind."

But Karin was still being affected by Mizuiro's spirit pressure and unable to respond.

Mizuiro took a step forward and an evil grin spread across his face. He unsheathed his saber, raised it and saluted the trio. He said, "So be it." before he sonidoed.

Mizuiro reappeared behind Karin, his saber raised over her head. But as he brought it down, Chad thrust his right arm in the swords path, preventing it from hitting it's target. And before he could withdraw his sword, Chad punched him in the side with his left hand. Mizuiro stumbled back and clutched his side.

Pain shot through Chad's hand, and he swore he heard something break. He forgotten about an arrancar's steel skin.

"Run! Take your sister and go!" he shouted at the Yuzu.

Yuzu nodded, still just as terrified. She grabbed her sister's arm and half-dragged her away.

Mizuiro saw them leaving and raised his free arm at the fleeing girls. He fired a barrage of weak belas at the girls' feet as they ran. None of the shots actually hit the girls, they just exploded around the already terrified girls. Then the most sickening thing happened, Mizuiro started to laugh.

Chad began to feel an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time, anger. Rational thought was pushed aside by raging emotions. It didn't matter he was a friend. It didn't matter that he was as much a victim as the girls were. All that mattered was destroying the arrancar.

He let out an enraged roar, startling the an arrancar, before he hit it in the stomach with an El Directo fueled by his rage, increasing it's strength beyond what it was normally capable of. A blinding and deafening explosion filled the air.

When his rage passed and the smoke cleared, Chad looked around for some sign of Mizuiro. But all he found was Mizuiro's scorched saber sticking out of a nearby tree.

Then the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. (metaphorically speaking as a ton of bricks hitting him wasn't the same for him as it was for a normal person) He must have killed Mizuiro. Chad fell to his knees, his head slumped down and punched the ground. The first time he used his fists in anger in years and he killed a friend. His Abuelo would be ashamed of him.

He heard a familiar static buzz. Chad looked up and saw Mizuiro pull his sword out of the tree with his left hand while his right arm hung limply at his side. Mizuiro's right sleeve from the elbow and down was gone, with burn marks on the rest of his sleeve. The exposed portion of his right arm and hand were burned pretty badly.

Chad watched as Mizuiro inspected his saber for minute before saying, "That's an impressive attack. If I hadn't blocked it with my sword and sonidoed at the same time, I wouldn't be standing here. Hell, that attack could have ripped me in two, if it a bit more power behind it. Thought that probably would have been a bad thing for you and any living thing near us."

He sheathed his sword and said, "That's some temper you have there Chad. Don't think you've beaten me just yet. I still have another trick up my sleeve."

Mizuiro took a deep breath, then his throat started to swell up. He tilted his head back as his cheeks swelled up as well. He held it there for a second before he brought it back down and opened his mouth. The second he opened his mouth, a green cloud shot out at Chad.

Remembering what the red cloud did to that car, Chad wisely dove out of the way the cloud.

The cloud quickly dissipated after it left Mizuiro's mouth, leaving behind a trail of dead grass.

Mizuiro let out a small cough before saying with pride, "See. Tatsuki has the physical strength and durability. Keigo has the speed and is the most skilled out of the three of us when it comes to weapon combat. I have a mastery of ceros and belas and my special ability."

A grin spread across his face. "You see when I was first made into a hollow, I had an ability. My body was a living factory of poisons, toxins and diseases which I could use to infect anyone I desire. I retained that when I became an arrancar, though in this form I'm limited on how much and which strains I can use it. Though if I wanted to, I could cover large part of this park with toxins that could kill anyone or anything. Of course, such an action would leave me painfully paralyzed for at least fourty-five minutes."

The thought of Mizuiro as a hollow and how he grinned as boasted about poisoning anyone in the park, filled him with guilt. Again he found himself wishing he had done something before all this happened.

But it was too late for that. He saw that now. There was only one thing he could do. Beat Mizuiro without killing him and help find a way to change him, Keigo and Tatsuki back to who they were.

He raised his right arm and fired an energy blast. As he predicted, Mizuiro fired a cero to stop his shot.

As soon as Chad fired his shot, he did the one thing Mizuiro would never expect. He started running behind his own shot.

As soon as the energy attacks collided, he leap through the explosion, ignoring the minor burns he received. The instant he cleared the explosion, he fired another blast at the stunned Mizuiro.

The blast hit Mizuiro in the chest and sending him crashing into a park bench where he lost consciousness.

Chad walked up to Mizuiro's prone body. He reached down to pick the unconscious boy. Only to see Mizuiro's left arm shoot up and fire single bela while his right arm grabbed his saber and slashed his chest.

Chad stumbled back a few steps, clutching the cut on chest. Mizuiro transferred his sword to left hand and let his right arm fall back to his side.

Mizuiro stood up and said, "That was a crazy stunt you pulled there. But it isn't over yet."

Chad grimly nodded at his friend. It wasn't over yet, not by a long shot.

* * *

Elsewhere

Ichigo swung Zangetsu down, blocking Tatsuki's punch with the blade. As soon as her fist hit the side of the blade, she sonidoed behind him and attempted to punch him form behind. But Ichigo was just as fast. He turned and block the punch with his zanpaku-to. Again Tatsuki sonidoed behind him and again Ichigo turned and blocked. This continued for another four times.

On Tatsuki's seventh attempt, it looked like it was gonna be the same as before. However at last second, she opened her fist and grabbed Zangetsu and held it in place, catching Ichigo off guard. Before he could counter what she did, Tatsuki repeatedly punched Ichigo in face with her free hand.

She then pulled on Zangetsu and tossed Ichigo behind her.

Ichigo quickly got back to his feet and the two charged each other again.

Fist and blade met once again. Ichigo's zanpaku-to cut a shallow line into Tatsuki's left shoulder while she slammed her right fist into his stomach, causing him to cough up some blood and back away for the arrancar.

Tatsuki was growing annoyed at Ichigo. Their fight had been going on for a while now. He had released his bankai. But was still holding back and as such had only inflicted some minor injuries to her. Ichigo's wounds, on the other hand, were much worse. His left eye was starting to swell shut from a nasty right hook she hit him with. His lip was cut and there were cuts and bruises all over his body.

He was still afraid to go all out against her. She had seen him fighting Grimmjow a few days ago. He was much stronger then he was right now. He should have by now forced her to call to have her seal removed or release her own zanpaku-to or both. Instead he was trying to fight her while avoiding inflicting serious, possibly fatal, wounds to her.

It was complete bullshit. You can't fight a person and try to avoid hurting them at the same time.

Ichigo charged at her again.

_'Time to show Ichigo just who he's fighting.'_

She grabbed a nearby streetlight and with a few tugs, ripped it out of the ground. The sight of this surprised Ichigo and he dropped his guard for a moment as he was running. A moment was all Tatsuki needed.

She swung the streetlight like a baseball bat, hitting Ichigo with it. He was sent flying a couple of blocks before he hit the ground and skidded across the street for another block.

"Home run!" she cheered Ichigo as came to a stop.

Discarding her now bent homemade bat, sonido to where Ichigo was.

Ichigo was on his hands and knees, trying to get up. Before he could get any further, Tatsuki kicked him in the face. The blow sent him onto his back. Tatsuki pulled out her sword and stepped on top of him. If Ichigo wasn't going to properly fight her then see might as well end this.

Ichigo swung Zangetsu at her. But she block it with her left hand, which cut said hand. Ignoring the new cut, she drove her sword into his arm and into the ground beneath the limb. Ichigo screamed in pain.

"It's a shame Ichigo. If you actually fought me at full strength, you likely would have beaten me. Instead, you insult me. You think I'm too weak. That if you don't hold back you'll kill me."

She spat in his face and drove her heel into his stomach, causing a groan to escape from his mouth.

"Had you fought me with everything you had and lost. I would have spared you for giving me a good fight. But because you insulted me, I won't be as merciful. Goodbye Ichigo."

She pointed her right hand at Ichigo's face, and prepared to fire a cero, when something hit her in the chest. The force sent her flying backwards, and crashing into something hard and made of metal. She blinked and looked around. She had hit the side of a delivery truck and was half-buried under the contains of the truck.

But she did care about that. Someone had interrupted her fight. Again.

She was gonna kill whoever it was.

* * *

I'm gonna end it here. Please review. 


	7. Chapter 7

Yo everybody! Good news today! I'm posting two chapters instead of just one. For a couple of reasons, first I started writing this chapter and it just grew and grew, so it turned it into two chapters. The second, Hollowfication was receive 20 reviews, added to 10 favorite stories lists, 11 story alerts and over 1800 hits. Far far better then my meager expectations. I wanna say to all the fans of this story, Thank You.

Shrugs: Actually the idea of some of Ichigo's friends that don't currently do not have any powers at the moment in the actual Bleach storyline (though Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo apparently do, they just haven't awaken theirs yet) becoming arrancar isn't an original idea. There's a couple of other, unfinished stories on They inspired me to write this one. If you wanna read, you can find them in my profile.

The only three (Not including the lame stories where Aizen magically turns Ichigo from a vizard into an arrancar. No offense to the authors of those stories, some of them are quite well written. I hate those ones because it doesn't make sense to me. Arrancar and vizards are polar opposites, just as soul reapers and hollows are. So how can you turn a negative into a positive.) I have found is Hollowed, Much like Falling and Aizen's Alternative Arrancar Plan. There may be more but I haven't found them.

I have also have found about the only Ichigo becomes an arrancar story I like and the only one that makes sense to me. It's called Hollow Love and again it's in my favorites. Basically instead of Ichigo becoming a vizard at the end of his training with Urahara, he becomes a hollow, then an arrancar.

If anyone finds another story where a Bleach character(s) become an arrancar, excluding the ones were Aizen turns Ichigo from a vizard into an arrancar, feel free to let me know.

Also I don't know why or where this idea came from, but it's become stuck in my head for a couple days now. A story where Ichigo's sister, Karin becomes an arrancar. There's plenty of stories where she becomes a soul reaper or a vizard, yet there's no arrancar ones. Maybe I'll work that into the next Bleach story I write. If anyone wants to use that idea for a story, go for it.

Ah well. Enough of my rantings, on with the story.

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach. I'm just a fan who wrote this story.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Her mind was plagued with horrible, horrible images. Images of Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro killing Ichigo, Rukia, Rangiku, Chad and the others. But they weren't the only horrible images she saw. Just as horrible, saw scenes of Ichigo and the others killing them.

_Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu met Tatsuki's zanpaku-to. They slashed at each other again and again, sometimes the blades would hit each other, other times they sliced through flesh._

_Then Tatsuki punched Ichigo, who raised his sword and blocked the punched but was still pushed back several feet._

_The two stood there for a moment, staring at each._

_Both raised their swords and ran towards each other._

_Then suddenly the scene seemed to split into two separate, yet identical and simultaneous scenes._

_In the first scene, Tatsuki managed to hit Ichigo before could attack. She drove her sword into Ichigo's chest, impaling him through the heart, then she twisted the blade. Ichigo gasped and coughed out a lot of blood, a fair amount of it on Tatsuki, who was smiling like she just won a martial art tournament._

_Tatsuki pulled the blade out of him. Ichigo fell to the ground, dead._

_Tatsuki sheathed her sword and said, "A shame you didn't put up more of a fight." Tatsuki shrugged, "Ah well, that's that."_

_The second, had Ichigo striking first. The two disappeared for an instant as they clashed. The two reappeared a few feet away for each other, back to back. Ichigo didn't have any new wounds but Tatsuki was a different story. Her sword had been cut in half, while a large, bloody gash spread across her chest. It looked like Ichigo had almost cut her in half._

_Tatsuki stood there for moment, the life draining from her eyes, before she collapsed. She was dead before she hit the ground._

_Ichigo glanced behind him. He called out, "Tatsuki? Tatsuki?!"_

_Realizing what he had done, Ichigo fell to his knees and in weak voice that just didn't seem to fit him and said, "No..."_

Orihime's eyes shot open. Those last to images of Ichigo dead at Tatsuki's hands and Tatsuki dead at Ichigo's, were burned into her brain.

It was an impossible nightmare, something so horrible that it could never happen in real life. Yet she it was real and playing out right now. Or even worst, it could be already over and somebody could be lying dead somewhere.

She pushed that thought out of her head. She couldn't think like that.

Orihime took a quick looked around. She was lying on a bed in Kurosaki Clinic. Someone must have brought her here after she was...

Thinking about how Tatsuki hurt her, verbally and physically, hurt more then any pain she felt before. Yet she saw something. Something that that gave her a flicker of hope.

When Tatsuki had grabbed her and started to insult her, face to face. While calling her weak, pathetic and much worse, Tatsuki left eye started to bit watered. It looked like a single tear was trying to fall.

Orihime pointed it out to Tatsuki, hoping she reach that part of her friend that was still there. Unfortunately, it only enraged Tatsuki, who attacked her.

She couldn't let Ichigo and the others fight this fight while she sat on the sidelines. They were as much her friends as they were Ichigo's and Chad's. She had to help. She didn't want anyone get hurt.

She bolted out of the bed and out of the room. She ran to the door, ignoring Ichigo's father and his protests. She reached the street and looked around to getting her bearings back.

Once she had her bearings back, she ran in the general direction of where she remembered they were before she was knocked out.

She ran through four or five blocks when she heard the sound of metal hitting flesh, followed by the sounds of something hitting the ground and Tatsuki yelling "Home Run!"

Picking up her pace, she reached the intersection and looked to the right.

Tatsuki was standing on top of Ichigo, who swung his sword at her. Tatsuki caught it in one hand and use the other hand to drive her own sword into his arm, causing Ichigo to scream in pain.

Tatsuki stood for a moment. It looked like she was saying something to Ichigo but Orihime was too far away to hear it. Then Tatsuki pointed her hand at Ichigo, preparing to fire a cero.

Images of Ichigo dying at the hands of Tatsuki and the others from her dreams filled her mind. She had to act, she couldn't let either of them die at the other's hands.

Running more on instinct then anything else, she yelled, "Tsubaki! Koten Zanshun! I reject!"

Tsubaki shot out and hit Tatsuki in the chest. Tsubaki didn't actually cause any damage to Tatsuki, he did however catch her off guard. Tatsuki was sent flying backwards, crashing through the side of delivery truck that was driving through an intersection behind the two of them.

Orihime rushed to Ichigo's side. "Ichigio? Ichigo are you alright?"

"Yeah." Ichigo said as he tried to remove Tatsuki's sword from his arm, but failed.

Orihime immediately grabbed the blade and with a few tugs on the sword and groans from Ichigo, pulled it out.

Before Ichigo could thank her, Orihime summoned her fairies and began to heal Ichigo, starting with his arm.

She had just finished healing Ichigo's arm when the truck exploded, revealing a pissed off Tatsuki.

"This is getting very annoying. First Rukia interrupts us, then Ichigo continually holds back against me, and finally we're interrupted again, this time by you, weakling. Here I thought it was someone wroth killing. Instead it's just pathetic little weakling who thinks she can play with the big kids." Tatsuki stepped out of the wreckage of the truck before continuing. "All I wanted was to test my abilities against Ichigo. Instead, I get all this annoying crap. Why don't we finish this Ichigo before someone else interrupts us."

Ichigo rose to his feet, raised Zangetsu and said, "Stay back Orihime."

"No! You two are friends! You shouldn't be figh-"

"Enough of the sentimental crap already!" Tatsuki yelled. "Let's finish this Ichigo, before someone else interrupts us."

Tatsuki charged at Ichigo while he raised Zangetsu. The two were about strike each other, when Tatsuki sonidoed again. She reappeared in front of Orihime and before she or Ichigo could respond, Tatsuki punched Orihime in the face.

Orihime realized that she had completely forgotten that she was holding Tatsuki's zanpaku-to.

"This is belongs to me, weakling." Tatsuki said as she tore the sword from her grasp.

Tatsuki turned to Ichigo and the two charged each other. Orihime looked on in horror. It was just like the last images of her nightmare.

The two disappeared right before they reached each other. They reappeared with their swords clashing for a second before they disappeared again. A second later, they reappeared in different location, again their swords stuck each. Again disappeared and again they reappeared a second later, in a different location. Their battle continued like this for many more times. Sometimes blade hit blade, other times the blades cut flesh. A number of cuts opened up all across their bodies as they fought but they gave no notice to their wounds.

The blades met one final time, striking each other and locking Ichigo and Tatsuki in contest of strength. At first it seemed like they were even, but it was slowly turning in Tatsuki's favor. But Ichigo wasn't about to go down without a fight. He kicked Tatsuki's left shin, throwing her off balance. Ichigo brought his sword down on her right shoulder in an attempt to disable her right arm. But Tatsuki sonidoed several feet back before he could.

The two of them stood for a moment, breathing heavily as blood dripped from their wounds. Without saying anything the Ichigo and Tatsuki charged once again. The two disappeared for an instant as they clashed and reappeared a few feet apart, their backs facing each other, their breathing heavier then before.

Tatsuki, who was now facing Orihime, stood there for a split-second before a large gash opened up across her chest. She let out a groan as she fell to one knee, using her sword to prop herself up.

Ichigo stood there for a moment longer then Tatsuki did when a gash formed on his chest. As Ichigo's back was to her, Orihime couldn't tell how bad it was. Ichigo struggled to stand for a moment, before he fell to his knees a second before collapsing all together.

A grin spread across Tatsuki's face as she slowly rose to her feet. She turned and limped over to Ichigo's fallen form.

"Not bad Ichigo. Almost beat me. But you held back again." As Tatsuki started to walk away from him, she added, "If you survive and wanna fight me again, lose that hesitation. Otherwise, I _will_ kill you."

Tatsuki tilted her head up and said, "Now let's how the others are fairing."

She closed her eyes then opened them a moment later, a shocked look in her eyes. "Impossible! How..." Tatsuki's expression changed from shock to anger.

"Urahara..." she said the name like a curse. "Damn. Gotta get the others and get out before it's too late."

Tatsuki started to walk away. Orihime had to do something to stop Tatsuki and she had to do it now. Orihime summoned her shield in front of Tatsuki's path. By pure chance, it appeared at the same second Tatsuki sonidoed. Causing her to crash into the shield and fall on her butt. If the circumstances had been different, it would have been funny.

Tatsuki got back up to her feet. Anger and annoyance were etched into her face. "That was a mistake. Even with the wounds Ichigo inflicted on me, I'm still more than able to kick your ass."

Tatsuki sonidoed right in front of her and punched her in the stomach. Orihime fell to her knees, but refused to stay down. She stood up and received another punch to her face, followed by another and another and another. It turned into a barrage of punches, hitting her all over. Tatsuki then drove her knee into her stomach and pushed down to the ground while grabbing her hair. Orihime heard the sound of a sword being drawn. "I think it's time for a haircut Orihime."

Orihime's eyes went wide. Her hair was the symbol of her friendship and dependence on Tatsuki. She never had it cut since meeting Tatsuki. Tatsuki cutting her hair was the ultimate act of betrayal. It was the same as cutting their bonds of friendship. The faint hope that there something of the Tatsuki she knew still in there, shattered.

She closed her eyes as tears began to pour down her eyes, waiting for the inevitable sound of the sword slicing through the air. It never came.

Instead, she felt the grip on her hair disappear and heard the sound of something hitting the pavement in front of her. Orihime opened her eyes. Tatsuki was lying on the ground a few feet in front of her.

"Are you alright Orihime?" a voice beside her said.

Orihime turned her head to the left and looked up. There was Yoruichi, looking down at her, concern in her eyes. She nodded her head as Urahara appeared at her right side, his zanpaku-to drawn and unsealed, said, "Sorry we're late Orihime. We didn't think Ichigo would lose so quickly. We'll take it from here."

Tatsuki looked up and upon seeing the two ex-captains, swore and got back up to her feet. There was a new gash on her left forearm. "Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihouin. I assume you two are responsible for us being unable to return to Hueco Mundo."

Urahara replied in a rare serious tone, "You assume correctly. I created a handy little device that when activated, releases invisible particles that attaches to any nearby people and temporarily disables their ability to travel between the worlds. Effecting anyone caught in the activation radius of the device."

Yoruichi added, "Surrender. You don't stand chance against us."

"I know I can't beat the two of you, but I wasn't made to be a prisoner. I prefer to go down swinging." Tatsuki suddenly put both hands on her sword and pointed it at her own chest. "Impale Ver-"

Before she could finish, her sword disappeared and new gashes appeared on both her arms. Yoruichi appeared behind Tatsuki, holding her sword.

Yoruichi waved the sword around and said, "We're not about to let you use your resurreccion. Surrender."

Tatsuki stood there for a moment, her breathing was growing heavier, her wounds seemed to be catching up with her. Tatsuki looked back and forth between Urhara and Yoruichi.

"Never."

She charged at Urahara and herself.

"Sing Benihime." Urahara said, summoning a red energy shield.

Tatsuki's right fist slammed into shield. Orihime heard the sound of something breaking. Yoruichi flash stepped behind her and axe kicked the back of Tatsuki's head.

Tatsuki fell to the ground, unconscious but alive.

* * *

Elsewhere

Outside the main entrance of an apartment complex, another soul reaper and arrancar fought.

Keigo was quiet pleased with himself. He was owning tattoo face. Course it was mainly because he had prevented the soul reaper from calling the Soul Society to remove the limit on his power. It would have been a different story if he had.

As it stood, Renji had inflicted only a few minor injuries, while he had inflicted a number of wounds, the worst being the wounds that disabled his left arm. In addition, the soul reaper was starting to wear out. It wouldn't be long now.

Zabimaru once again flew at him. Keigo responded by throwing his kamas at the released zanpaku-to, imbeded them in the fifth segment from the head and wrapping the chains around it. As Keigo started to drive the snake-like weapon into the ground, the soul reaper did something unexpected. He spun his zanpaku-to. The sudden spinning motion caught him off guard and caused him to lose his grip on the chains of his kamas. As soon as he did, the chains immediately shrank back to their original length.

Keigo silently cursed. Now his kamas were stuck in tattoo face's bankai.

_'This is gonna be a pain. Fighting with one's bare hands is Tatsuki thing, not mine.'_

It wasn't entirely true. He did learn hand to hand combat, he just preferred to have a weapon in his hand over using his hands as a weapon.

"Ha!" Renji said in a cocky tone. "Let's see how tough you are without your kamas."

_'Ha ha ha ha... I was gonna play with him some more, but now I want wipe that cocky smirk off his tattooed face.'_

Keigo laughed. "Good work on getting my kamas away from me. I would continue to play with you but I think it's time to end this."

"Ha! Like a punk like you could beat me!"

Keigo smirked. "I've been playing with you the moment I blew up your cellphone, when you stopped being a threat."

"Oh yeah! Well then try this on for size! Higa zekko!"

All of the segments of Zabimaru separated and came at him, leaving tattoo face completely defenseless.

_'Fool.'_

Keigo used a series of sonidos to dodge the flying segments while getting to what he was after, the segment with his kamas in it.

His last sonido landed him on top of the segment in question and grabbed the handles of his kamas, pulled them out and sonidoed off the segment.

Using another series of sonidos to dodged the remain flying segments and reached the now defenseless soul reaper. The instant he was in front of Renji, he repeatedly slashed him across the chest with his kamas. A number of cuts opened up on his chest.

His bankai resealed as Renji collapsed to his hands and knees. "Dammit. I won't lose to you!"

Renji slowly climbed to his feet and raised his sword. Keigo chuckled and drove one of his kamas into the soul reapers right shoulder and stabbed his chest with the other one. Tattoo face screamed in pain. Keigo pulled them out and watched the soul reaper fall to the ground. He was alive but he wasn't going to be able to do anything for awhile.

Keigo knelt down and cleaned the blood off his kamas using a sleeve of Renji's kimono. He tucked his kamas back into his belt, causing the chains to reattach themselves.

"Well I guess I should see how the others are doing." he started to walk away, whistling a random tune that came to him.

He had only gotten a few steps when he saw a familiar face walking towards him. His sister, Mizuho Asano.

_'Now I just can't pass up an opportunity like this.'_

Still whistling, he grabbed her by the throat with one hand and lifted her off her feet. His other hand grabbed one of his kamas. He was about to strike when a voice called out "An arrancar picking on a defenseless human instead of fighting someone who can actually fight back? Wow, and here I thought you arrancar were warriors."

Keigo turned his head to speaker, Ikkaku Madarame with his pretty boy friend, Yumichika.

"Well this is a surprise. I don't know how you two escaped nor do I care. But could you and the girly pretty boy first let me finish up here before we start fighting?"

"Nope. Can't do that." Ikkaku replied while a vein in Yumichika's forehead throbbed.

"Aw come on. You hate her as much as I do. If your worried about getting in trouble, just say that you arrived too late. Hell, I'll even let you send her to the Soul Society after I'm done."

"Sorry. As much as I hate her, I have also sworn to protect the living from hollows and arrancar."

Keigo sighed and tossed Mizuho to the ground. "Fine then. So who's first you or the girly boy?"

Yumichika drew his sword and was about to attack when Ikkaku stopped him. "I got this one Yumichika."

Annoyed, he nodded and sheathed his sword. Ikkaku drew his zanpaku-to and said, "I'm the third seat of squad eleven, Ikkaku Madarame."

Keigo raised an eyebrow. "Ah...I know who you are. We have been living in same building for a week, we're in the same class and I have read the report on you. I know that you have achieved bankai yet hide the fact."

"Then you must also know it's proper thing for a warrior to give his name to his opponent."

"Very well. I'm Keigo Asano, arrancar number eighty-three."

"Extend Hozukimaru!"

Ikkaku slammed the butt of sword into his sheath, merging the two into a spear. He lunged at Keigo with his spear. Keigo blocked the blade with his hand and threw his kama at him, slashing his chest, only to be hit in the side of the head with the spear's pommel.

"Not bad. Definitely more interesting then tattoo face was." Keigo said as he pulled back his kama.

He fired a cero at him. Ikkaku dodged it and threw the bladed section of zanpaku-to at him. Keigo defected it with his kama.

"You're not that bad either."

The two stared at each for moment. Keigo pulled out his other kama. Ikkaku said, "Normally, I wouldn't do this but we're under orders to finish this as quickly as we can. BANKAI! Ryumon Hozukimaru!"

A ball of energy surrounded enveloped Ikkaku for a moment. The ball disappeared, revealing Ikkaku and his bankai.

The two charged and attacked. Ikkaku brought the sword section down on Keigo, who sidestepped it and stabbed his chest with a kama. Ikkaku in turn slashed him across the chest with his monk spade.

Keigo leap back and threw both kamas at him. As soon as they were almost at him, Ikkaku grabbed the handle of middle section of his bankai and spun it. His kamas' chains became entangled in the chains of Ikkaku's bankai.

Keigo was thrown from his feet and found himself spinning along with the bankai. After a few rotations, the g-forces and the fact that he was getting dizzy, caused him to lose his grip on the chains and skidded across the pavement on his chest. Once his head stopped spinning, he got up to his feet and looked down at his jacket. It torn up and and dirty. It annoyed him, he liked that jacket.

He looked up and saw Yumichika in front of him, his zanpaku-to unsealed. "What? Two against one? I thought you eleventh division guys loved to fight one on one."

"True." Yumichika said. "We normally will only fight one on one, even if one of our own is on the verge of dying, we won't interfere. But captain Hitsugaya, Urahara and Yoruichi told us to bring you in alive as quickly as possible, even if we had to double-team you."

Yumichika then waved his hand in front of his blade. The blade transformed into a bunch of peacock feathers. He swung the blade and struck Keigo across the chest. It didn't hurt but rather started to feel tired and weak.

_'Dammit. His blade is draining my spiritual energy. Gotta get away from him.'_

He sonidoed away from the girly looking soul reaper. Unfortunately, due to the sudden loss of a portion of his spiritual energy, he didn't get very far. He ended up a few feet in front of Ikkaku, who had his foot on his kamas.

The second Keigo appeared in front of him, Ikkaku attacked. Slashing him across the chest with the monk spade and sword parts of his bankai.

Two large gashes opened up across his chest. Keigo fell to the ground. But that's what he wanted. He reached for his kamas. All he needed was to grab his kamas and unseal them. His fingers touched the tip of one blade when Ikkaku drove the monk spade into his arms, almost completely severing his arms. Keigo screamed in pain. "My arms! You cut my freaking arms off!"

Ikkaku raised a foot over his head. "Quit being a baby. Limbs can be reattached." Ikkaku said before he brought his foot down on his head.

* * *

Elsewhere

Mizuiro grinned as used a sonido to dodge another of Chad's powerful punches and fired off a bala from his left hand. The bala struck him in the chest. Chad stumbled back and clutched his chest.

He found it quite amusing. When he was human, he wouldn't have stood a chance against anyone in a fight. Now he was beating the human juggernaut known as Yasutora 'Chad' Sado with ease. Though he was annoyed that his right arm was completely and painfully disabled. Of course, even after getting medical treatment, he'd probably still be unable to use it for several days, if not a week. Of course, he could unseal his zanpaku-to. That would completely restore his arm. But he just didn't feel like it. There was no point to it. Other then that one attack, Chad had yet to prove that he was strong enough to warrant that. If he started to do that powerful punch attack again then probably would have to.

However, Chad didn't seem to be able to do that attack again. And he also likely feared that if he did use it again, he'd kill him. He wouldn't. The only reason he hit him the first time was that he caught him off guard. Now he knew what to expect.

Chad balled his right hand amd the flanges on his shoulder opened as he focused his reiatsu into his fist. It was the same attack from before...expect it was weaker then the first one.

Chad started running at him. At the last second, Mizuiro sonidoed. He reappeared behind Chad, where he charged and fired a cero.

It hit Chad square in the back and exploded. When the smoke cleared, Chad was on his knees, panting.

"Is this the extent of your abilities Chad? Where is all that power you had in the first attack?"

Chad didn't say anything. Instead, he climbed to his feet and tried to attack him with the same attack again. However, this time it was even weaker than the previous one.

He drew his saber and sidestepped the attacked and countered. Slashing Chad across the chest.

Chad stumbled to one knee, panting even harder.

"I'll take that as a yes." he said as he raised his zanpaku-to. "Time to finish this. Good bye Chad."

He brought his zanpaku-to down...only to stop it in mid air. A chain had wrapped around his saber and arm.

An instant later, his entire left arm and saber were encased in ice.

"AAARGH!" he screamed.

Mizuiro looked behind him. It was captain Toshiro Hitsugaya and his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Surrender." Hitsugaya said. "And you will not be harmed."

"I don't think so." he replied before sending a pulse of spiritual energy through his arm, shattering the ice and sending the chain to the ground.

Hitsugaya slashed the air with his zanpaku-to, creating flying ice dragon. Mizuiro countered by firing a trio of balas at it, destroying it.

Chad tried to hit him from behind but Mizuiro dive out of the attack. He quickly got to his feet and fired out a toxic cloud at three of them. Hitsugaya waved his zanpaku-to, summoning a wall of ice to block the cloud. Poison and ice met. The ice melted as the cloud dissipated, canceling each other out. Mizuiro was hit by a sudden coughing fit, causing him to cough up a bit of blood.

_'Damn. Almost at my limit. I should be able to use it another two or three times before it starts damaging me.'_

"It seems you can only use that poison cloud attack a limited number of times before it starts damaging you." Hitsugaya said.

"Poison? No, it's not just simple poisons. As I told Chad, I can do a lot more then simple poisons. Why don't you try this." he said before spitting out a white cloud.

Just like before Hitsugaya summoned a wall of ice, just like he wanted him to. The cloud hit the ice, melting it and creating a dark blue cloud. Rangiku and Chad leap back but Hitsugaya who was standing right behind the wall of ice stumbled backwards and struggled to stay standing while Mizuiro suffered a coughing fit worse then the last one.

"Captain!" Rangiku shouted as ran to her captain's side and supported his struggling body. "What did you do to him?!"

"Like I said, I can do a lot more then simple poisons. I created a powerful muscle relaxant, that loosens ones muscles to the point that they can not move them. However, it was missing one ingredient, H2O. When the gas came into contact with his wall of ice, the chemical became complete. Oh and don't worry it isn't fatal, he'll just have an increasingly hard time moving around until he can't move anymore. I can't create something that complex and fatal in this form and remain standing."

Hitsugaya waved his lieutenant off, choosing to stand on his own.

"Oh and you should know that all three of you inhaled enough to effect you. Captain Hitsugaya simply breathed in enough to effect him right away. But you should be starting to feel the effects now. Tell me is getting hard to hold onto your zanpak-"

"BANKAI! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"

Hitsugaya stood there for a moment, examining his arms and moving them with no difficultly what so ever. "It seems that your muscle relaxant isn't as effective in cold temperatures."

_'How stupid of me! I'm getting careless. I knew he had an ice-type zanpaku-to yet I didn't make it resistant to the cold.'_

There was only one option left to him. He raised his saber and said, "Consume-"

"Not so fast!" Rangiku shouted. "Roar Haineko!"

Before Mizuiro could finish his command, a cloud of ash attacked his left hand, virtually shredding his left hand. His sword fell to the ground as he held his bloody left hand to his chest.

"I don't need to lift my zanpaku-to to fight." Rangiku said before she and Chad both fell to one knee.

Mizuiro was in trouble now. Both his hands were disabled, which meant no ceros or belas, nor could he use his resurreccion. If he kept on using his toxins, he'd end up poisoning himself worse then his opponent. But he wasn't about to surrender either. Surrendering meant being sent to the Soul Society for interrogation, then either imprisonment, execution, or worse, being given to the Squad Twelve for research on arrancar.

Shuddered at the thought. Granz was creepy and, in Mizuiro's mind at least a little crazy, if not completely insane. But he had heard that his soul reaper counterpart was just as bad, possibly even worse Granz. If that Mayuri Kurotsuchi was anything like Granz then imprisonment and execution would be merciful compared to being sent to Squad Twelve Headquarters.

He pushed those thoughts out of his head. Now wasn't the time.

He could use one last powerful toxin to kill or at the very lease defeat the captain. The problem was if he did do that, his body would suffer a massive toxic overdose. Now none of poisons, toxins and diseases could effect him, much less kill him, but a toxic overdose would leave him painfully paralyzed for a good forty minutes to an hour at least, unless received medical treatment for it. But it was about the only thing he could do.

Mizuiro's throat started to swell as he created the desired the toxin, hoping that Tatsuki or Keigo would get to him before one of the soul reapers did. But Hitsugaya wasn't about let him fire off another toxin. Hitsugaya lunged, swinging his sword at him. He dodged the first two swings, but the third, fourth and fifth all hit him. Three gashes spread across his chest, then immediately frozen over. The gas in his throat almost completely dissipated, and the remaining bit of gas harmlessly escaped as he let out a series of hacking coughs.

Mizuiro attempted to stay standing but every second he was standing felt like an eternity. His arms were disabled and barely had the strength to stay standing. He was beaten. He knew that. Hitsugaya knew that. "Well, come on soul reaper. Finish it." he said as he shivered from the iced over wounds.

"No. I'm taking you to Urahara's."

Just before he collapsed and passed out. Mizuiro managed to say, "And you call us evil..."

* * *

I imagine some of you are wondering about Orihime and what she did in this chapter. Some people seem to think she's the standard damsel in distress. Personally, I don't think she is. If this actually did happen, I believe she would have initial paralyzed from the shock of seeing Tatsuki and the others as arrancar. Then once she snapped out of it, she would have tried stop before the fighting before anyone was seriously hurt or killed.

Please Review.


	8. Chapter 8

Yo everybody! Like I said in the last chapter, I'm posting two chapters for the price of one. So if you clicked the link to take you to the latest page, go back and read chapter seven first.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Half an Hour Later

Las Noches

Aizen grinned as he watched the recording of events play out of early this evening with Gin, Tosen, the Espada, and a few other arrancar. Things had gone far better then he expected.

Originally, he had planned on using Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo as weapons against Kurosaki and his human comrades. The perfect weapon to use against people like Kurosaki is their own friends. He would never be able to kill any of them without the guilt and remorse of killing a friend destroying him. Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo on the other hand, were beyond such things as guilt and remorse.

That is until he discovered the full extent of Miss Orihime Inoue's power. He changed his plans, deciding to use them to aid in the capture of Miss Inoue and then as them leverage to ensure she do what he wanted her to do.

His plan originally was to return to Karakura for a few weeks, to give the appearance that nothing what so ever happened. They would keep an eye on Kurosaki, the other humans and the team of soul reapers, maybe they would even get their former friends to trust with their secrets. Then they would reveal themselves the night he planned to capture Miss Inoue. But Grimmjow's attack on Tatsuki and what happened afterwards changed that. But it wasn't a bad change. In fact, he had already formulated a new plan long before Yoruichi and Urahara had told Kurosaki and the others about his arrancar.

He had to admit, he was a little surprised that they had actually beaten their opponents one on one, especially with a quarter of their power sealed and without unsealing their zanpaku-tos. He knew from the beginning that they would ultimately lose and be captured. Frankly, he never expected them to do as well as they did, and it wasn't just the events of this night either. They actually reached the adjuchas-class several hours sooner then he expected. Then during the month he trained them, they had shown, just like Kurosaki and all of his humans comrades, an extraordinary rate of growth in terms of spiritual power. Though of course theirs' wasn't on par with Kurosaki's, no one's was. He wondered if it was the result of exposure to Kurosaki or if it had something to do with Karakura itself.

_'Perhaps one day all three of them will join the ranks of the Espada.' _he mused. He knew of their desire to join the ranks of the Espada and encouraged it.

Nnoitra laughed and said, "Looks like they got their asses handed to them."

Grimmjow laughed as well. "Well what do expect from bunch of weaklings like them. Hey Ulquiorra, I bet your pretty pissed at your subordinates for losing."

"I never expected them to win." Ulquiorra said. "Though the fact that they were able beat Kurosaki, a lieutenant and one of the humans before they were defeated speaks volumes of their ability."

"Bah. I beat Kurosaki twice, you and Yammy beat Kurosaki and that human. It's not like it's that big of a deal. And Asano didn't let that lieutenant fight at full strength. How can that measure his ability?"

"Actually Grimmjow, you never beat Ichigo. The first time you fought him, Tosen stopped the fight before a winner could be determined and the second fight also ended before a winner could be determined. And Keigo's actions show that he has the intelligence to beat an opponent rather then trying to prove how strong he is to everyone. Unlike your dead Fraccion." Ulquiorra replied in his usual monotone.

Grimmjow became enraged but before he could shout out an insult or a comeback at Ulquiorra. Aizen said, "Enough. Now who wishes to come with me and retrieve them?"

Ulquiorra raised an arm as did Grimmjow, who said with a smirk, "I wanna rub this in their faces."

Surprisingly, Halibel raised her arm as well.

Nnoitra chuckled. "Oh what's this? Your fond of one of them, aren't ya. It's that Kojima kid isn't it. Half the women in Los Noches are attracted to him. What is his appeal to women anyway?" (I wonder this myself. Especially after in the actual storyline, he went on a vacation with his girlfriend, whose older then him, and _nine _of her female friends.)

Halibel said nothing nor did she even acknowledge him. Nnoitra laughed even harder.

"Very well then. Luppi, Yammy. You two are coming as well."

"Yes Aizen-sama." the two Espada in question answered.

"That's a lotta Espada yer takin' Aizen-sama." Gin said.

"Indeed. But if I know Yamamoto, he won't let three captured arrancar to sit in the world of the living even in a secure place like Urahara's shop. He'll send a team of captains and lieutenants to escort them to the Soul Society for interrogation. He'll send Soifon and at least one of his four strongest captains. Strength in numbers is ideal for this situation."

Aizen rose from his seat and added, "Come. We'll attack when they are at the weakest."

* * *

Urahara Shoten

Elsewhere

"What do you mean you might not be able to do anything to fix them!!!" an angry and bandaged Ichigo yelled.

He, Chad, Orihime, Rukia and everyone else were sitting around the Urahara Shoten. Renji, Chad, Rukia, Orihime, and himself were still pretty beaten up. Orihime would have healed them all but she was physically and emotionally drained. She did however, heal the majority of the damage done to Keigo's and Mizuiro's arms. Wounds that Urahara didn't have the proper supplies to heal. But he stopped her from further healing them, saying that it would be better for everyone to keep them unconscious. In fact, Urahara sedated them afterwards.

"Calm down Kurosaki or you'll reopen your wounds." Urahara calmly said.

He tried to calm down, but was still very angry. A little bit of his anger was directed at Urahara, the man who created Hogyoku which turned them into those monsters and was now saying that he might not be able to do anything to help.

But most of his anger was directed at two people. At Aizen for targeting his friends and using them in this vile way. And at himself, for not being there to protect Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki from Aizen.

"I understand how you feel Ichigo but this is uncharted waters we're in. I'm not even sure if a normal hollow exorcism would work on an artificially created arrancar."

"But you created the Hogyoku. Shouldn't you know everything about it?" Rukia asked.

"Yes I created it but I only finished the initial testing when I realized just how dangerous it was. After that, I focused on how to destroy it rather then experiment with it."

"Wait just a minute." Hitsugaya said. "You had the Hogyoku for a hundred years and yet you never were able to destroy it? And why wouldn't a normal hollow exorcism will work on an artificially created arrancar?"

Urahara sighed and said, "The Hogyoku is abnormally resilient. In the one hundred years it was in my possession, I tried everything I could think of to destroy it, only to fail every time. As for your second question, that's a lot more complicated."

Urahara paused for a moment before continuing. "It all has to do with how much of their being is hollow and how much is soul reaper."

Everyone, save Yoruichi, had a puzzled look on their faces.

He continued before anyone could ask him what he meant. "As you know, arrancar and vizards are not solely a hollow or soul reaper, rather they're a fusion of the two. But neither is a perfect fusion of one half soul reaper and one half hollow. The majority of their being is what they were before their transformation."

"A natural born arrancar is usually only thirty to thirty-five percent soul reaper. Enough to give a zanpaku-to and abilities similar to that of a soul reaper. But because a larger percentage of their being is still a hollow, they can still be purified like a hollow. It's different story with the ones made using the Hogyoku. The percentage of hollow and soul reaper in the majority of the arrancar under Aizen are about forty-five percent soul reaper, a much more balanced fusion then the natural ones. Which means that if a soul reaper kills them, the normal exorcism may not actually occur, instead they may just die like a soul reaper who falls in combat."

Urahara paused for a moment, before adding, "Of course I could actually make them human or at least as close as poss-"

"WHAT?!" Ichigo shout. "You just said you couldn't!"

"It won't be fixing them. It would just be putting them in untraceable gigais, like the one I gave Rukia. It would slowly sap their spiritual power and eventually they would basically be humans. But it wouldn't be fixing them. It wouldn't restore them to who they were before they were turned into hollows."

"Then there has to be way to suppress their inner hollows and allow them to take control of their bodies." Ichigo said, desperation in his tone.

Urahara shook his head. "You don't understand Ichigo. They aren't being controlled by an inner hollow."

"What? Then why are they working for Aizen?!"

"They aren't vizards, they don't have inner hollows. In most cases, an inner hollow is created when a hollow transformation is stopped halfway through when a person becomes a soul reaper instead. However, even the partial transformation will alter a part of the person's soul, creating a separate personally within their soul. What they would have become if the transformation was completed, the inner hollow as it's called."

Urahara then asked, "What's the difference between a whole and a hollow?"

"A hollow it a whole that has lost it's heart." Orihime answered in a weak voice.

"And that's exactly what happened to them. Their hearts and by extension their humanity is gone."

"But when Tatsuki first attacked me, a tear looked like it was going fall from her left eye. There's still a part of her that's human, it's the only explanation." a desperate Orihime said.

Urahara sighed. "There's speculation that most hollows, excluding those born of evil souls, still have a small shred of humanity that remains in a hollow. In some cases, like your brother, that shred may even attempt to reassert itself for a time at least. But the shred of humanity in a hollow becomes increasingly smaller and suppressed the longer they remain a hollow and as it climbs the up hollow evolutionary ladder."

Urahara paused for moment. "I need to see what exactly happened to them before I can make any real plans."

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "How do you plan to do that?"

A grin spread across Urahara's face. "You forget. I'm the former president and founder of the Soul Reaper Research Institute. I have a number of prototypes that were never officially put in use by the 13 Court Guard Squads. Including a failed prototype of an interrogation device that should give me what I need."

"You plan to torture them?!" Ichigo said, shocked that Urahara would even consider such a thing. And he wasn't the only one. Everyone, save Yoruichi had a similar expression.

Urahara raised an eyebrow. "What? No, no, no. Why would you think that I would torture someone? The device in question displays a person's memories. In case you're wondering why it was a failure. It won't show a conscious, unwilling subject's memories and it has a habit of waking unconscious subjects up."

Urahara looked over his shoulder and shout, "Tessai, Jinta, Ururu!"

One of the back doors opened and Urahara's employees stepped out. Tessai asked, "Yes boss?"

"Tessai, bring out one of the prisoners and an extra sedative. Jinta, Ururu, I want you two to look in the storage rooms and bring me the box labeled "Memory Projector". Don't drop it."

The three nodded and went about their tasks. A minute later, Tessai came back into the room, pulling a stretcher with an unconscious and chained Keigo on it. He placed the stretcher next to the table.

Keigo's jacket had been removed and replaced with a number of bandages covering his upper body. What it didn't cover was his number, 83, tattooed onto his abdomen.

Tatsuki's, 84, was on her right bicep and Mizuiro's, 85, was in the area just underneath his neck.

Those numbers sicken Ichigo. It only further showed how Aizen twisted them into something vile.

A moment later, Jinta and Ururu came back in with a box labeled "Memory Projector". They set it on the table. As soon as they did, Urahara waved them off and opened the box and pulled out two things. The first looked like a laptop computer, save it was twice the size of a normal laptop and was missing the screen. Also it had fewer buttons. It only had the numbers buttons and the buttons play, fast forward, rewind, stop and pause. The second thing was a bunch of wires that looked like the wires used on a heart rate monitor.

Urahara attached three of the wires to the device and then attached the wires to Keigo's forehead. One in the middle and one on each side. He then pulled out a remote, pushed a button and a large screen lower down from the ceiling.

Urahara paused and looked at the group. More specifically, Ichigo realized, Urahara was staring at Orihime, Chad, and himself.

With a grim expression on his face, he said, "None of you have to be there for this. Those of you that do, you should know that it's gonna be bad. Especially for Keigo, for he will relive every memory that we watch."

No one left. Ichigo knew he could have and probably should have left. He knew what happened to them and a part of him felt that he shouldn't see how they became monsters. Yet something compelled him to stay, to see what happened with his own eyes.

He and everybody else, however were surprised that Orihime was staying. She didn't say anything, she just sat there with a look of grim determination.

Urahara nodded. "Okay then. Let's begin. The device will show us everything that Keigo saw and heard, through his eyes."

Urahara typed in the date they disappeared, the first day of school, then he keyed in the time classes ended.

_The image of their classroom filled the screen. Everybody was packing up their stuff and leaving the classroom._

Urahara hit the fast forward button, skipping through his walk home, dinner, most of the evening, until shortly after his parents left, leaving him with his sister.

_There was a knock at the door. Mizuho yelled at him to get it. Keigo mumbled to himself, "Keigo get the door. Keigo go to the store and get me some juice. Keigo do this, Keigo do that. What am I her errand boy?"_

_Keigo reached the door and opened it, revealing a dark-skinned man in a strange white outfit._

Everyone knew who it was. One of traitors, Kaname Tosen.

_The man was holding a sheathed sword. At his feet was another guy, a black hood on his head and he was holding his arms behind his back kinda like he was wearing handcuffs._

"Is that Mizuiro?" Ichigo asked to no one in particular.

"Probably." Urahara said. "Probably."

_The man asked, "Keigo Asano?"_

_Keigo didn't know what to make of this guy. Deciding that he didn't want to know. "No one with that name lives here." he lied._

_As soon as he finished his sentence, his sister yelled out, "Keigo! Who's at the door?!"_

_A nervous grin spread across his face. He tried to slam the door shut, but the man was faster. He pushed the door all the way open before he could. He grabbed the hooded person and walked into the room and closed the door behind him._

"_Hey Keigo! Who was at the door?" Mizuho asked as she entered the room._

_She paused and stared at Keigo and the others. "Who's that kneeing on the ground?"_

_Keigo was surprised. Why was she just asking about the one on the floor? What about the guy in the outfit? "Shouldn't we worry about the about man that brought the kneeing guy." he asked her._

_Mizuho raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? There's only the one guy on the floor."_

"_She can not see or hear me." the man said._

"_Wh-what? What are you talking about? How come she can't see you?"_

"Wait a minute. Tosen's in spirit form. How can Keigo see him? Have you been hidding something from us Urahara?" Ichigo asked, eying Urahara suspiciously.

Urahara nodded. "A little bit. Chad and Orihime weren't the only ones who's spiritual energy was awakened by contact with you after you became a soul reaper. The only difference was that before all this, they never reached the level that would grant powers, like Orihime and Chad did. No doubt that was one of the reasons Aizen chose them."

"Why didn't you tell us?!" Ichigo shouted at Urahara.

"Kurosaki, what would you have done if I did?"

Ichigo sat there for minute thinking about it. He realized that if he had known before hand, the most he could have done was tell them about what was going on. But probably wouldn't have really changed much if anything.

"_Who are you talking to Keigo?" Mizuho asked._

_Before he could answer. The man disappeared and reappeared in front of his sister. There was a loud pop and a bright flash. Mizuho passed out and fell to the ground._

_The man turned around and said, "Keigo Asano. You are to come with me."_

_Before Keigo could make any kind of response. The man pulled out his sword an said, "Howl Suzumushi."_

_A loud buzz filled his ears, causing him to pass out._

The screen turned blue. Urahara said to everyone, "It just means he passed out."

A moment later, the screen turned black.

"How does that mean?" Rukia asked.

"It means he's awake but can't see anything." Urahara responded.

_After what seemed like an eternity the black shroud over his head was lifted. His body was frozen in place. He could only move his head to sides a bit._

_From what he could see of the room he was in, it looked like a large throne room. Standing in front of him was two men, the first was a pale, grinning man. The second was brown-haired man, who to Keigo looked like the guy in charge._

_The dark skinned man stepped forward from behind him and walked to the right side of the brown-haired man._

_Said man suddenly stared at him. The second he did, an indescribable terror shot through Keigo. He just wanted to get away form this guy. But as soon as started it ended and Keigo realizing that he had been holding his breath the entire time, exhaled and tried to breath._

_The brown-haired man said, "Tatsuki Arisawa, Mizuiro Kojima, Keigo Asano, I imagine you are all wondering why I had the three of you brought here."_

"_My name is Sosuke Aizen, and these are my lieutenants, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen. You have been brought here because I see much potential in the three of you and I have seen how those you call friends have neglected and abandoned you because you currently lack the power they possess. They think you are too weak to be anything but a burden if they told you the truth about the powers that they received and about the world you live in. I however, see your potential and hate to see wasted potential."_

Ichigo wanted to yell out "Don't listen to him! He's lying!". But it was pointless.

"_I am going to make all of you more powerful then you could ever imagine. In fact, I will train you for one month, it will be brutal though and it is possible that all three of you will die. If you survive the month, then offer you a choice about whether you join my army or return to the world of the living. No strings attached."_

"A choice?! He offered them a choice and they still sided with him!" Ichigo yelled.

"Calm down Ichigo." Yoruichi said. "They were given that choice after they were transformed. They were already different people."

"_Well now that that's out of the way, lets get started." Aizen took a step forward before adding, "Oh, I almost forgot that this will be quite painful, but just think of it as the price of power."_

_The man named Tosen appeared in front of him, grabbed him with one arm and lifted him up. Energy surged into his body. It was doing something to his body. Something painful. He let out a low groan._

During the whole time Tosen was doing that, Keigo's body shuddered.

"Damn. Aizen's forcing the dormant part of their spiritual power to awaken." Urahara said.

"Why does it look like Keigo's in pain" Orihime asked.

"Because he's forcing it awaken immediately rather then slowly like what happened to the rest of you." Yoruichi answered. "It's painful and an extremely dangerous procedure. It can enable a person to reach a higher level in terms of power quicker then it normally takes. But if too much of a person's spiritual power is forced open at one time, it can tear their souls apart."

_Then it stopped and the palm of Tosen's other hand hit face, sending flying backwards to the ground._

_Keigo, realizing that he could move again, tried to get up, until he heard the rattle of chain coming from his chest. Looking down, he saw a metal plate and chain attached to his chest. He followed the chain to it's source, a second him still being held by Tosen. He glanced to his right and that Tatsuki and Mizuiro were indeed here and in the same state has him._

"_This doesn't make any sense. It can't be real." he whispered as he looked back at the second him._

"_Would you do the honors Gin." Aizen said to the grinning man._

_Gin pulled out his sword and said "Shoot to kill Shinso."_

_The blade of his sword shot out and impaled Tatsuki through her metal plate on her chest. The blade retracted causing the plate and chain to crumble, leaving a hole in Tatsuki's chest. She let a pain filled scream. A second later, something bizarre happened to Tatsuki. Her body started to tear itself apart._

Ichigo could have sworn heard Orihime let out a quiet sob. He would have looked but couldn't turn away from the screen.

"_Shoot to kill Shinso."_

_The blade shot out again, this time it impaled Mizuiro's plate. And just like Tatsuki, he started to scream as his body tore itself apart._

_It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was next. But there was nothing he could do. He'd only get so far with this chain on his chest and it looked like removing it was a very very bad thing. He hung his head in defeat and waited for the inevitable._

"_Shoot to kill Shinso."_

_The sword impaled his plate, destroying it like the others._

The moment Keigo's chain of fate was destroyed, his unconscious form began to convulse. Tessai quickly held Keigo down. But he still continued to thrash around.

_Unbearable, unimaginable pain shot through his body. It felt like thousands of tiny hooks were digging into every square inch of his skin and pulling in every direction. His body tore itself apart and reformed into a larger, monstrous form. The only human part of him that remained was his head. But the instant his body finished transforming, a white liquid poured out every hole in his head, it covered his face and hardened into a mask._

As the mask started to form on Keigo's face, static started to fill the screen, increasing as the mask continued to form. When the mask was complete, the entire screen turned to static.

"Well this is a first." Urahara said to himself. "In all the times I've used this thing, it's never shown static while a subject is hooked up to it. Could be the result of the final stages of transformation."

The static filled screen turned blue and Keigo's thrashing stopped.

The screen turned black before revealing Keigo's first sights as a hollow. A massive cave that had a dark purple mist covering the floor.

"That explains a lot." Urahara said more to himself then anyone else.

"What are you taking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Watching them fight you and the other, I realized that there was no way that they were turned into arrancar from ordinary hollows and be as strong they are with only a month of training under their belts. Yet it can take decades at least for a hollow to become menos grande. However, there are ways of speeding up the process. That mist is a pure form of the extremely diluted gas I used in the shattered shaft. As long as a hollow has a supply of food, that gas can speed it up the evolutionary process. Achieving what would take decades and centuries in days."

Ichigo watched in growing horror as Keigo looked at his new form. He appeared to be a giant winged snake, with bright red and dark blue scales. Kiego then turned his head and saw the hollows made from Mizuiro and Tatsuki. Mizuiro was purple-skinned, hunched over humanoid hollow that looked like it was nothing but skin stretched over bone. Tatsuki was looked like a hollow version of a manticore with a wolf-like mask, complete with point ears that looked more like horns and the red half Xs on sides of both eyes.

The sight of three of his friends as monsters, made him feel like throwing up. Again he wanted to turn away, to leave before he witnessed any other horrific images. But again, he felt compelled to stay, to watch. Perhaps seeing these images would give him some idea of how to help them.

The three seemed to have no memory of who the were, but that didn't matter as shortly after they woke up, a horde of hollows appeared. And a massive brawl between all the hollows occurred. And Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo were no expectations. They fought and devoured hollows, just like the rest did. However, they didn't fight each other. In fact, several times they went out of their way to help each other.

Urahara pressed the fast forward button, skipping through a hours of such memories. Until around twenty-three hours after they first became hollows, when a second transformation occurred. They each let out a long, pain-filled howl, causing all of the nearby hollow to back away from the trio as black shrouds shot out from the edges of their masks covered their bodies. They grew taller and taller till they became giants, towering over all the other hollows. Again Keigo's body convulsed as he transformed. They had become menos grande.

The screen became blurred and it was impossible to clearly see what was happening. Urahara again sped through those memories. Until about forty-six and a half hours after they were first transformed into hollows. That's when the screen returned to normal.

Again they howled, this time however, they howled repeatedly like they were in agony. And again Keigo's unconscious form started thrashing. Their bodies shuddered and convulsed as rips and tears formed across their cloaks, sending chucks of black fabric to the ground . Keigo's limbs disintegrated and he fell straight down to ground, creating a mound of twitching black cloth with a giant mask on top. The mound then exploded, revealing a roaring, newly created adjuchas-class hollow.

(I know in the anime fillers, they have shown adjuchas of different colors, but I'm going by the manga and in the manga all of the adjuchas shown have a base color of white.)

Ichigo watched through Keigo's eyes as he stared at his new form. He was smaller then he was a ordinary hollow. He now had a humanoid upper body, with a rattlesnake tail for legs. His scales were white with crimson and dark blue streaks running down his body. His dark blue wings returned, joined by a second, smaller pair underneath the first pair. Although he had arms, he didn't have hands. Instead, hands and half of his forearms had been replaced by dark gray scythe blades.

He turned to where Mizuiro and Tatsuki were. Tatsuki's body had shrunk. The large bulky muscles she had as a hollow was replaced with slimmer, but still powerful looking muscles. Her skin was white but still had the crimson spiral designs covering it. Her fingers were now crimson claws. Her legs and feet had changed. Before they were similar to a canines, now they were bit more human. She was now standing upright on the balls of her feet while her heels were high up off the ground. Her toes and heels were tipped with crimson talons. She changed her position from standing on her arms and legs to standing just on her legs. She now had three long lizard-like white tails with the same red spirals, each tipped a wicked looking blade. Her mask changed, losing some of it's wolfish features, though it retained it's ears and red marks.

Mizuiro's body was no longer hunched over, now he was standing straight up. Otherwise, the basic shape of his hollow body remained. Like the others, his body was almost entirely white, save for the long, green curved talons on his fingers and toes and the green spikes running down his spine. There a was a tube-like bone sicking out of each shoulder blade. Green smoke slowly rose out of the openings on the bones. There were also a series of lines of black dots running down his arms, chest and back. Also there was several pieces of the ripped meno grande cloak attached to his waist running down to about the middle of his shins. As well as baggy sleeves that covered his biceps and then split into three sections, hanging from the elbow. It like he was wearing a torn robes.

They examined their bodies for moment, then the hollows decided to resume their fighting and Keigo, Tatsuki and Mizuiro joined them. But there was something different now. Before every time a hollow fell, another appeared to take it's place. But now the endless tide had stopped and eventually all the hollows and few menos grande that had wondered in, were dead and eaten. Leaving Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro standing in an empty cave. They looked at each other, unsure of what to now.

"_Well congratulations are in order." a voice called out._

_A brown-hair being appeared before them, along with a pale haired and skinned grinning creature and a dark-skinned one. He didn't know who or what they were but they smelled delicious. Brown hair continued to speak. "You completed the first step of your training. And know it's time for your reward, to become something even stronger."_

_Training? Was that what this was? Who was this guy and what was he talking about._

"_Who are you and what are you talking about?" his female comrade asked._

"_You know who I am. You just have forgotten. Just like you forgot who you are." he replied. "But I can help you remember."_

"_Really? How?" he asked. He had wondered who and what he was, but had little time to ponder it with the near non-stop fighting._

"_With this." he said as he pulled out a small black marble._

_He approached this man who claimed to have the answers about him. When he reach him, the marble began to glow. Suddenly, a bright beam of energy shot out and hit him. The light was blinding as the energy filled his body. He could feel his body changing but unlike the previous ones, it was painless._

_The sound of an explosion filled his ears. The bright light faded, allowing him to see. He was sitting, naked on the ground. His body was now similar to the one who did this to him. The hole in his chest had moved. It was now located just to the left of his right shoulder. He felt a triangular piece of the mask he had worn on each cheek and a pair of fangs hanging from each ear._

_Then the memories began to return to him. He looked at his hands and balled them into fists. He felt powerful. Aizen was right, he had become more powerful then he ever could have dreamed._

"_What is your name?" Aizen asked him._

_He grinned and answered, "Keigo Asano."_

_Aizen smiled and asked, "And what do you remember Keigo Asano?"_

"_Everything Ai-"_

The rest was cut off as the picture and sound became distorted.

Keigo began to shake his head. "Get out... Get out of my head!"

His eyes opened up. And the first thing he saw was Tessai, who was still holding him down and who's face a few inches his own. Naturally, Keigo did what any rational person would do in that situation. He screamed and started thrashing, threatening to reopen his wounds.

"Tessai, sedate him." Urahara said.

Tessai pulled out a needle and injected it into Keigo's neck. Keigo's eyes opened wide for a few seconds before they glazed over as he mumbled about creepy men and needles, before passing out.

Urahara sighed. "I honestly don't know what I can do in the amount of time I have."

"What are you are talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"They won't be remaining here much longer. Aizen and Yamamoto will both eventually send teams to retrieve them. The question is who will be first?" he replied on a grim tone.

Ichigo knew what would happen if Aizen retrieved them. He'd take them back to Hueco Mundo and chances of them ever becoming who they once were, would hit rock bottom. On the other hand, Urahara implied that it wasn't the best thing to have them go to the Soul Society.

Ichigo asked, "What will happen to them if they go to the Soul Society?"

Urahara was about to answer, when the main door of shop opened. Everybody turned to the newcomers.

* * *

Who's at the door? Soul reapers or arrancar? Gonna have wait till my next chapter.

In case, your wondering who those four strongest captains (aside from Yamamoto himself, personally I believe Ichigo by himself couldn't beat him) I was talking about. It's Kenpachi, Byakuya, Shunsui and Jushiro, who I believe to be the strongest (and the coolest) captains underneath Yamamoto.

I have decided not to start my Naruto/Bleach crossover until after Orihime is kidnapped, probably in another two or three chapters. But I'm giving you guys a little preview. This is just a rough version, so it may change a bit when the chapter is posted.

And I've decided that Neji's getting Byakuya's blade.

* * *

Shunsui Kyoraku smiled at the unconscious blond lying on the ground. Old Man Yama had finally started the awakening. The first test would soon start but there was some time before that happened.

He waited for this day since he had woken up in the boy's mind, the day Naruto was born. He had watched the boy's life unfold through the his eyes. He watched Naruto's mother die shortly after giving birth to him. He saw Naruto's father sacrifice his life and any chance for his son to have a normal childhood, to seal powerful nine-tailed demon fox that was trying to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village and everyone. Shunsui remembered when he spoke to the fox when it appeared in the part of the kid's mind that was connected to the seal.

"_Hello there." he said in a cheerful tone as he approached the Kyuubi's cage._

"_**What?! There's someone else already in this brat!**" the fox roared at him._

"_Something like that. My name is Shunsui Kyoraku. And you are the Kyuubi no Kitsune." He sat down in front of the cage and pulled out a bottle of sake. "Drink?"_

_The demon fox stared at him. No doubt he was confused by sight of human who showed no fear of him, who was speaking to him like he was a good friend and was offering him a drink. "**No.**"_

"_Suit yourself." he said and took a sip from the bottle. "I imagine you're wondering what I doing here. I'm here to offer you a chance at redemption for all the damage you've done to the world and the boy you're sealed in."_

"_**Bah Like I care this brat and this village. I will break this boy and take over his body and have my revenge on this accursed village.**"_

_He sighed. "I thought you might say that." he said as his tone changed from usual cheerful and goofy tone to a more serious tone. "That's why I'm also where to tell you that you will never escape. I will keep you restrained until Naruto is strong enough to do it himself and use your power as his own. If he ever fails, I will be there to hold you back and if need be, destroy you."_

_The fox laughed. "**Kill me! You a mere human, threatening to kill me! No human can kill me.**"_

_A smile spread across his lips. "Bakudo 99 Part 1. Kin Restrict."_

_Black leather straps appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around the Kyuubi's limbs. Binding it's front legs together, it's hind legs together and all nine of it's tails together._

_The demon fox fell to the ground, thrashing. "**What?!! Impossible! No human technique can bind me like this. Nor have I ever heard of such a technique.**"_

"_That's because this technique predates you."_

"_**Impossible! I have been alive since the beginning of this world.**"_

"_Yes. Since the beginning of the shinobi world. This technique was made before the shinobi world existed." he replied. "Now to finish this. Bakudo 99 Part 2. Ban-Kin. First Incantation. Bandage. Second Incantation. The Hundred Gate Bolts."_

_White bandages wrapped over the fox's body, then the fox was impaled by a hundred bolts._

_The Kyuubi roared and thrashed, trying to escape from it's bindings._

"_If I say the final incantation, you will die. I suggest you take some time to calm down and think what I offered you. If you change your mind or you wanna drink, you know where to find me."_

Sadly, that was all he could do for the moment. He could only watch the horrible and lonely childhood the boy suffered through. Those early years were filled with many, many rainy days. He feared the boy would break long before he could help further. Yet somehow the boy endured and dreamed of proving everyone that they were wrong about him. Eventually becoming a ninja and finding a family in his teammates, one of his teachers from the academy, and Old Man Hokage.

Then there was the events of the Land of Wave mission. When Naruto and the Uchiha boy were fighting the boy with the Hyoton bloodline. Shunsui knew that even with the two of them fighting, they didn't stand a chance against Haku, yet he refused to release some of the Kyuubi's chakra beyond the passive amount that normally entered Naruto's body. All because he feared it would be too much for the boy to handle at that time.

Then the moment came that surprised both Naruto and him. Sasuke pushed him out of the way of a lethal barrage of senbon needles. He had realized his mistake, after it was too late. He released a small amount of the Kyuubi's chakra. Enough to beat Haku. But the damage was done, Sasuke died saving Naruto, like a true friend would which surprised him as he thought that Sasuke hated Naruto. But he guessed wrong. The brooding Uchiha did apparently care about Naruto.

Of course, he was just as surprised when Sasuke turned out to be alive.

Two women appeared at his side. His only company, besides the fox. The first was the woman he loved and was going to propose to, before the two wars broke out that would ultimately result in the end of his world and the birth of this one. Nanao Ise. The other was the spirit of his zanpaku-to, Katen Kyokotsu. The two had been partners for years before his death. And now it was time for Naruto to earn the right to have her fight alongside him.

"It's finally time Shunsui. He'll be waking up soon. I'll let you make the initial introductions. Then I will test him to see if he is worthy." Katen said to him.

"Trust me, he is. After all, he will be Hokage one day."

That was something Shunsui never doubted. There was something about Naruto, something that made him believe the boy could anything.

"We shall see." she replied as she disappeared.

Naruto began to stir. He turned to Nanao and asked, "Did you bring the basket of flower petals Nanao?"

* * *

Please Review. And I finally have done a profile page. 


	9. Chapter 9

Yo everybody!

Sorry for the delay. I was suffering from writer's block. So I have been working on some of my other ideas. And I have been going nuts waiting for the newest chapters of Bleach and Naruto. Sasuke vs. Itachi and Kenpachi vs. Nnoitra! Those fights are looking so awesome.

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Urahara Shoten

The front door of the Urahara Shoten opened up, revealing captains Soifon, Kenpachi Zaraki, Shunsui Kyoraku and lieutenants Nanao Ise and Yachiru Kusajishi (naturally she was perched on Kenpachi's left shoulder).

"You're earlier then I expected." Urahara said. "I assume you're here for them."

"Yes." Soifon answered. "Captain-General Yamamoto wants the three arrancar brought to the Soul Society before Aizen realizes what's happened and tries to retrieve them."

Ichigo found himself again asking, "What will happened to them when they get to the Soul Society?"

"They will be taken to the Second Division headquarters for interrogation. After that, their fates will decided by the Captain-General." Soifon answered.

"And what exactly will their fates be?" he asked.

"I can not say for certain, but it will likely either be, imprisonment, being sent to Research and Development for research on the artificially created arrancar, or execution." she replied.

Ichigo was shocked. Imprisonment, execution, or being guinea pigs for experiments. He honesty didn't like the sound of what would happen if they went to the Soul Society. But then what alternative was there? He couldn't let them go back Hueco Mundo. They would simply rejoin Aizen's army and remain their enemies. At the same time, he wasn't in the condition to stop the captains from taking them to the Soul Society. Even if he was at a hundred percent, he doubted he could stop them.

Soul Society, Hueco Mundo. It didn't matter which one they went to. It was bad for them either way. There had to be something else.

"Don't look so down Ichigo." Shunsui said. "Old Man Yama knows that they were your friends. So he has offered you, Chad and Orihime a chance to come to the Soul Society and plead on their behalf."

He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. There was a chance.

Then the thought hit him. _'But what would it change?'_

Nothing. They would still be arrancar. They would still be their enemies. There had to be a way to fix them, a way to turn them back to who they were.

"But first they have to be taken to the Soul Society." Soifon added. "Urahara, are they ready to be moved."

"Not quite. Another ten minutes or so and their wounds should be healed enough to allow them to be moved."

"Well then. We might as well sit down and relax and wait till then." Shunsui said as he stepped into the shop and sat down. "Hey Kisuke, what do ya got to drink in this place?"

A vein throbbed in the forehead of his lieutenant. "Captain Kyoraku sir, you wouldn't be trying get a drink while in the middle of mission, would you?" she said as she shot him a death glare.

"No, no. Of course not Nanao." he nervously replied. "I'm thirsty. I wanted to see I could get some water or something. That's all."

* * *

Ten Minutes Later

Everything had pretty much quieted down. Tessai had moved Keigo back into the room with Tatsuki and Mizuiro. Kenpachi and Yachiru were in there with them to keep an eye on them. Occasionally, Yachiru could be heard saying things. He heard her say a moment ago, "Hey Kenny, look at this one. He's got a hole in neck. I wonder how he talks?"

The rest of retrieval team that had been sent was currently discussing things with Urahara and Yoruichi. The members of Hitsugaya's team were either resting up or talking amongst themselves. Chad was...well being Chad, sitting quietly and not really doing anything. Orihime was staring into space, with a sad look in her eyes. Ichigo couldn't blame her.

Even after everything that happened, after everything that he saw, he still couldn't believe it. The whole thing seemed like a surreal nightmare that he couldn't wake up from.

He recalled how their faces had changed Tatsuki, her once friendly smile now a feral grin. Keigo's goofy grin now had a darker, predatory edge to it. Mizuiro's calm face had become cold and emotionless. Their faces all had one thing in common, they seemed utterly alien to Ichigo. Yet at the same time, he had known these people for years.

For what was at least the hundredth time tonight, he cursed Aizen. Damn him for targeting his friends, damn him for turning them into monsters.

Again, Ichigo found himself wondering what if. He knew it was pointless, there was no way he could have known Aizen would do such a thing. He still felt guilty though.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud yell coming from the back room. "GET YOUR HANDS OUT OF THAT!"

It was Mizuiro. He was awake.

Urahara stood up, walked over and opened the door, revealing Yachiru, who standing over Mizuiro and poking the hollow hole in his neck.

Yachiru, ignoring Mizuiro's protests, asked, "How can you talk with a hole in your neck, Glowy Eyes?"

Mizuiro stopped and stared at her for moment. "What?! Are you serious? Wait...Glowy Eyes?"

"Yeah. I wanna know."

Before he could reply, another voice called out, "Enough already. I'm trying to sleep."

It was Tatsuki.

Both she and Mizuiro, like Keigo, their coats had been removed and replaced with bandages. The majority of Mizuiro's chest, with some smaller ones on his arms and face. Tatsuki had the most out of all of them. Her upper body, left shoulder, arms and right hand were wrapped in bandages.

"Well now, you two are wake." Urahara said. "I assume you know where you are and what's about to happen."

"We're in your shop and we're about to shipped off to the Soul Society for interrogation." Mizuiro said in an emotionless tone. "Then once their satisfied that they have pulled out every scrap of information from our heads, they'll either lock us up, execute us or they'll hand us over to your successor."

Tatsuki groaned as she slowly sat up, the chains on her arms jingling as she did. "Well then. Lets not keep them waiting. Oh, could I have my coat back?"

"So your not going try to escape then?" Urahara asked.

"At the moment, we can't, so what's the point." Mizuiro answered as he sat up.

He glanced at Keigo, who was still asleep. "Might wanna wake him up."

Tessai appeared with a bucket of water. Without saying anything, he dumped the contents of the bucket onto Keigo's head.

The reaction was immediate. "GAAAAAH!! Cold cold cold! What the hell?! Was that really necessary?!"

"We had to wake you." was Tessai's response.

"So you poured ice cold water on me! Couldn't you have just shook me a bit or slapped me? Especially, you violated my mind!"

Tessai simply replied, "This was faster."

* * *

A Few Minutes Later

Everyone was standing of outside of the Urahara Shoten. Hitsugaya and his team would stay behind and keep an eye on things, in case Aizen tried something. Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo were standing there, their coats back on, and their arms bound behind their backs.

Shunsui pulled out one of his swords and summoned the doorway to Soul Society. "Alright kiddos, lets get going."

Shunsui and Kenpachi (again Yachiru was on Kenpachi's shoulder) took the lead, Soifon, who was carrying Keigo's, Mizuiro's and Tatsuki's weapons and Nanao took up the rear. Everyone else was in the middle.

Everything was going well, but for some reason Ichigo found himself growing increasing uneasy. The feeling started the moment he stepped out of the shop.

They all stepped through the doorway and started running through the passage way to the Soul Society.

They had running for a few minutes when Kenpachi and Shunsui stopped.

A black opening was forming in front of them.

"Alright! Finally some action! And here I thought this was gonna be a dull mission." Kenpachi said as he and Shunsui drew their swords while Yachiru jumped off Kenpachi's shoulder.

Soifon passed the weapons to Nanao and joined the other captains. Ichigo drew Zangetsu while Chad raised his transformed arm, both ready for combat.

Shunsui turned his head to them and said, "Nanao, take them and go back to Urahara's, we'll cover you."

The opening finished forming, revealing Grimmjow, Luppi, and Yammy.

Grimmjow laughed and said, "It's entertaining to see you brats taken down a peg. How does it feel Arisawa, to be beaten and in chains?"

"I don't know. How does it feel to be a dumbass Grimmjow?" Tatsuki shot back.

"Bitch."

"Cripple."

Grimmjow raised his arm and pointed at her. "Say that one more time Arisawa and I'll rip your throat out." He then pointed at Ichigo. "Then I'll rip his out."

"Ah! Even with both arms tied behind my back, I can kick your crippled ass all the way back to Las Noches."

"Oh yeah. Well let's see-"

"Enough." an irritated Luppi interrupted. "We didn't come here to listen to you two argue."

"Yeah. We're here to bust 'em out." Yammy said before he charged the three captains.

Yammy raised a fist and slammed it into Kenpachi, who blocked it with his sword. The two giants began trading blows while Luppi began firing belas at Shunsui, and Grimmjow and Soifon began fighting fist-to-fist.

Ichigo was about to join the fight when Shunsui turned to him and said, "What are you waiting for? We'll hold them off! Take them and go!"

Ichigo reluctantly nodded. He turned back to Chad, the two of them nodded at each other and moved towards Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo. Now wasn't the time to see if they were willing to go back to Urahara.

Chad slung both Keigo and Mizuiro over his shoulders, both of whom were protesting their treatment while Chad completely ignored them. Ichigo was about to do the same to Tatsuki when a second opening formed. This one was blocking their path back to the world of the living.

The gateway to Hueco Mundo opened, revealing Ulquiorra and a female arrancar in a revealing outfit. But Ichigo's attention was on the one standing in between the two arrancar.

It was the bastard responsible for all of this, Aizen.

"Hello again Kurosaki." Aizen said with a grin. "I see that you have taken good care of my subordinates for me. But I'm here now to take them back."

"The hell you will, you bastard!" Ichigo shouted.

Ichigo roared as he ran at Aizen, not caring that he hadn't used his bankai or his mask. All that mattered was destroying the man responsible for all of this. He swung Zangetsu at Aizen, who caught it with one hand.

"Oh, you plan to stop me without using your bankai Kurosaki?" Aizen said in an amused tone.

Aizen raised his free hand and said, "Hado 33. Shot of Red Fire."

A red energy ball slammed into Ichigo's chest, sending him flying.

"Ulquiorra, Halibel, free them."

"Yes Aizen-sama." the two arrancar said before they sonidoed.

The female arrancar, Halibel, appeared in front of Chad and drove a fist into his stomach. Chad stumbled and fell down while Mizuiro and Keigo slid off his shoulders. Keigo hit the ground while Halibel caught Mizuiro. She gently set him on his feet and cut the bonds on his arms. Then she picked up Keigo and did the same.

Ulquiorra appeared behind Tatsuki, his sword drawn and cut her bonds. As soon as her arms were free, she rubbed her wrists and forearms. "Thanks. Those were starting to chafe." She turned her head to Nanao and added, "Now to get back what's ours."

Tatsuki sonidoed in front of Nanao and drove her knee into the lieutenant's midsection. She stumbled back, dropping the weapons she was holding. Tatsuki caught them and punched Nanao in the face, sending the sending the lieutenant to the ground. Tatsuki then tossed Mizuiro and Keigo their weapons. Tatsuki strapped her sword back on her back while Mizuiro tucked his back in his belt. Keigo twirled his kamas in his fingers for a moment. "At last. My arms are complete."

He then tucked his kamas into his belt. Then the three of them then bowed their heads at Aizen. Ichigo felt sick to his stomach at the sight of that. But it only got worse.

"Aizen-sama, forgive us for failing our mission." Tatsuki said in a respectful tone. "We allowed ourselves to be exposed and captured."

Now Ichigo felt like throwing up. Hearing Tatsuki say _'Aizen-sama' _was just too much.

"There's no need to apologize. The fault was not yours', it was Grimmjow's for disobeying my orders." Aizen glanced over to where the captains and the Espada (and ex-Espada) were fighting and added, "It's time to leave."

"Yes Aizen-sama." the five arrancar answered as they started to walk to the opening.

"Tatsuki, you don't have to go with them! None of you do!" Orihime desperately shouted.

They completely ignored her. Orihime grabbed Tatsuki's right arm in an attempt to stop her. Tatsuki responded by punching her in the face with her left arm. Orihime fell to the ground with thud.

Ichigo, who had gotten back up to his feet during all this, flash stepped in front of their path. "I'm not letting you pass. Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, please come with us to the Soul Society. Don't go with this bastard."

The three of them rolled their eyes in annoyance. "The Soul Society? Why would we go there when all that awaited us was imprisonment, interrogation and in the best case scenario, being locked up forever. Hueco Mundo is our home now." Mizuiro replied.

Before Ichigo could say anything, a fist hit the back of his head, causing him to fall to his knees. Before he could try to get up, a foot slammed into his back, pinning him to the ground.

Ichigo turned his head to look behind him and saw Ulquiorra standing on him. He tried to get up, but Ulquiorra managed to keep him pinned to the ground.

Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro and Halibel entered the portal to Hueco Mundo. Ichigo heard Keigo said, "So long Ichigo."

As soon as they disappeared into the portal, Ulquiorra stepped off him and followed them.

Ichigo got to his feet, shooting death glares at Aizen. "You bastard. You're gonna pay for what you did to them."

Aizen simply chuckled. "Actually, I did very little. All I did was awaken their dormant spiritual energy, turn them into arrancar and I trained them. They joined my army of their own free will. In fact, they have become such good subordinates of mine. Who knows, maybe one day they'll join the ranks of the Espada."

"LAIR! I saw what you did to them, what you said! You poisoned their minds!"

"Not really. All I did was speak the truth. After you and the others returned from the Soul Socitey, I kept an eye on you. You kept them in the dark about what was happening, and almost entirely cut yourself off from them, despite the fact that they were your friends. It was only natural for them to feel bitter and abandoned. So Kurosaki, if you're looking for someone to blame, you need only look into a mirror."

Ichigo started to feel guilt rising inside him. No. It wasn't his fault. Aizen was using a little bit of truth and twisting it.

"No." he said. "We kept them in the dark to protect them. And you twisted it, just like you twisted them."

Aizen laughed and replied, "Protect them? How does keeping them in the dark keep them safe? All it did was make them feel like you didn't care about them anymore."

Aizen turned around and added, "Don't worry Kurosaki. This isn't the last time you'll see them."

"You're not going anywhere Aizen! BANKAI! Tensa Zangetsu!"

Aizen chuckled as his faded away. "Hado 90. Black Coffin." (by far the coolest kido spell)

Ichigo turned his head around and saw Aizen standing behind him for a split second before the black energy walls of the coffin formed around him. Dozens of knife blades raked across body causing numerous gashes opened up across his body. The walls faded and Ichigo fell to the ground.

Aizen stepped over his body and stopped at the edge of the passage way Hueco Mundo, just as the captains returned from their own fighting. Aizen look behind himself and said, "So long Kurosaki and better luck next time."

He stepped through the opening. As soon as he did, it began to close.

Ichigo repeatedly slammed his fist into the ground, venting his anger. He had failed his friends again.

* * *

Urahara Shoten

12:03 am.

Urahara sighed before taking a sip of sake. Ichigo, Orihime and Chad had returned just over ten minutes after they left. Aizen had ambushed them and retrieved his arrancar. Secretly, both Yoruichi and himself hoped it would happen. It was extremely unlikely that Ichigo and the others could convince Yamamoto to let them go after the interrogation. At best, they would be sent to the Twelfth Division. Which would mean that Mayuri would personally 'examine' them. His former third seat (1) was brilliant and was a more then capable captain. Unfortunately, his lack of ethics left something to be desired.

If they survived that, they would locked up in long term holding cells. If they were sent there, they wouldn't be coming out. He should know, he almost ended up there.

Those cells had been colorfully referred to as the Black Hell. And for good reason.

The cells were in a vast labyrinth, located underneath the First Division Headquarters. Guarded by an elite force of soul reapers and powerful, ancient kido spells. Even he would have a hard time escaping from there or breaking someone out.

The cells themselves didn't have any windows or any lights. The last thing a person would see was the door closing before they were locked in total darkness. And they would be left there, in that black hell, until their sentence was up. Which hadn't happened to any of the prisoners in there yet.

Of course, he'd imagine that just about everyone and everything in those cells were devoid of even barest traces of sanity after a few years of being in there. So even when a person's sentence was up, they'd be too dangerous to let out of their cells anyway.

The second Ichigo returned, he demanded that he open a portal to Hueco Mundo for him. He told them that he hadn't finish creating a portal strong enough for people with captain-level spiritual power. And if he tried to cross through a normal Garganta, it would become unstable and collapse, killing them all.

It was a total lie of course. He had finished the reinforced Garganta several days ago. He just wasn't about to let Ichigo and the others run into Hueco Mundo, especially Orihime. If Aizen didn't know about the full extent of Orihime's powers by now, he'd be surprised. Chances are, they were bait to draw them to Hueco Mundo so Aizen could get his hands on Orihime.

His thoughts were interrupted when the front door of his shop opened up. It was Isshin. He was out of his gigai. The ex-captain sat down at the table and poured some sake into a cup sitting on the table. He picked the cup up and downed the contents in one sip.

"Tell me what happened tonight Urahara." his tone was serious. "Tell me why two of Ichigo's friends were fighting a life and death battle against each other. A battle that my daughters were caught in the cross fire of."

"I'm sorry. Does Ichigo know?"

Isshin shook his head. "No. I modified Yuzu's memory and told Karin not to tell anyone about what happened." He then added in a quiet voice, "He doesn't need to know about that."

Urahara nodded his head and began to tell the story of happened. Isshin sat there and didn't say anything. When he finished, Isshin said, "You know they'll keep on asking you about the Garganta until you have no choice but to tell them that it's done."

"I know. They won't rest until they save them. And I suspect that's what Aizen wants. As long as he has them, he can get Ichigo and others to dance to his tune and they won't even now it."

"Can they be saved?" Isshin asked.

Urahara stared at his old friend for a moment. "Yes, it's possible. Orihime's power to reject events for example, could do it. Though she will not be able to turn them back to humans."

Isshin raised an eyebrow. "Thought her power could reverse anything."

"Yes and no. She does have limits. She could reject that they were turned into arrancar, turning them back to adjuchas, but she would end up killing herself trying to turn them back into human souls. As she would also have to restore all of the hollow they consumed. She doesn't have the spiritual energy to do that for one person, much less three. No one does."

"There is one thing she can do. She can partially restore the human part of their souls, or at least what remains of it. If she manages to restore enough of it, I believe it may cause the hollow part to split off, like a vizard. Of course this is just speculation."

He sighed and added, "The real question is can they live with themselves afterwards."

* * *

And that all for now.

(1) It's my belief that Tessai was Urahara's lieutenant when he was captain of Squad Twelve. I also believe that Jinta and Ururu were experiments of Urahara's, similar to Nemu.

I'm almost ready to start posting chapters for my Bleach/Naruto fanfic. Or at least I was until lightingstrxu's comments in his review. Now I'm not sure if I should give Neji Mayuri's or Byakuya's zanpaku-to. It's driving me nuts. Any advice or feedback on this is welcome.

Though I do have the prologues for both that story and my Akatsuki story pretty much done. So I'll probably post them in a couple of days.

Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Yo everybody!

Vashkoda: Thanks! Coming up with an idea is easy. Creating the outline of a story is easy. It's coming up with the meat of the story that I can have a hard time with at times. I actually have most of this story mapped out and I'm even thinking up of a sequel that will take place after the war. I wanna see how Hueco Mundo arc ends first though. I have my theory on how it's gonna end, which will likely be how the Hueco Mundo arc ends in my story. Unless it really different and I really like it, then I may alter it to fit my story.

Though I do have a list of arrancar that will not be killed in my story regardless of what happens in Bleach. I have plans for them.

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach otherwise this would be canon.

**Chapter Ten**

Las Noches

Saturday 8:35 am.

A large bear-like hollow let out a tremendous roar. Only to have a fist slam into it's face mid-roar. It fell to the ground in a twitching heap.

Tatsuki sighed as another hollow lunged at her. A roundhouse kick later, it too was on the ground.

She was annoyed. Her defeat, capture and rescue had left a bad taste in her mouth. She knew that she hadn't stood a chance against both Urahara and Yoruichi, especially right after her battle against Ichigo. It could have been worse, she could have been killed or the soul reapers could have successfully brought them them to the Soul Society.

Though her pride had been seriously damaged by the affair. It wasn't however, what truly annoyed her.

It wasn't that Ichigo had held back during their fight either. It had annoyed her greatly that Ichigo thought so little of her that he had to hold back against. But she had shown him his error. Next time he won't make that mistake or he will die.

She glanced at her right hand, still wrapped in bandages. She had broken her hand hitting Urahara's shield but she had created hair-line fractures in it. Another blow or two and it would have collapsed. The medics had repaired the damage to it but had told her to keep her hand wrapped and not to use it for twenty-four hours.

Nor was her broken hand the source of her annoyance.

After she had returned to Los Noches and the medics fully healed her and made sure that Urahara didn't leave anything on her, she had returned to room and slept for a couple of hours.

When she woke up, she felt something, the source of her annoyance. A small bit of guilt over what she did the night before. That wretched human emotion called guilt. She hated feeling like that. It meant there was a part of her that was still human. Still weak. And that was the one she hated above all else, being weak. Which was why she discarded her humanity in the first place. Or at least all of it save that one little piece that was permanently lodged in her. One little piece that she just couldn't get rid of, no matter how hard she tried.

So Tatsuki decided to wonder into the hollow pits located on the outskirts of the Forest of Menos. So she could blow off some steam by fighting a bunch of hollows.

Suddenly, a pair of hands erupted from the ground and grabbed her ankles. While this happened, a flying hollow that looked like a cross between a lizard and a bat dive bombed her. Tatsuki pushed off the ground and did a back flip, causing the hollow holding her to erupt out through the ground. The hollow went flying up and collided with the flying hollow. A dull pain shot through her right hand as she landed on her hands before flipping back onto her feet. While the hollows landed in a pile on top of each other.

Before either hollow could get up, she kicked them like a soccer ball, sending them flying.

Tatsuki continued walking deeper into the pits, beating every hollow that attacked her. It was too easy. She wanted a challenge. Maybe she'd go to the Forest of Menos. She didn't actually feel like dealing with all the menos but she had heard rumors that a lone soul reaper was hiding out there. Maybe she could find him. If the rumors were true then he'd probably prove a decent challenge.

A large tongue shot out and wrapped around her legs and waist. A giant lizard hollow crawled out the shadows.

_'Finally, a bit of a challenge.'_

It was a giant hollow. Likely one that had gorged itself on souls and hollows and was close to menos grande transformation.

"Heh heh heh. A tasty tasty little half-breed. And a little girl as well. Heh heh heh. I wonder does she taste like a soul reaper or a hollow or does she taste like a little girl. Tell me half-breed, do which do you taste like? Heh heh heh. I can't wait to find out." the hollow said in a rather creepy voice.

Great. It looks like she bumped into a hollow of at best, a dead prevent. At worst...well either way, she was gonna kill this one.

The hollow started to pull it's tongue back, dragging closer her to it's large maw. She let it drag her a few feet before she put her foot down and stop him. The hollow began to pull back harder, even tried to take steps away from her. Only to fail.

"What?! Impossible! How can a puny puny little half-breed like you, out muscle me?!" the hollow shrieked.

Tatsuki snickered and replied, "Size has nothing to do with strength. Here let me show you!"

She grabbed the tongue and pulled. The hollow howled as she ripped it's tongue out.

It screamed out what sounded like, "My tongue! My tongue! You ripped out my precious precious tongue, you little half-breed bitch! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

Tatsuki discarded the severed tongue. She was getting annoyed at being called a half-breed. Most hollows didn't like arrancar, especially strong hollows with big egos. They considered arrancars too much like soul reapers. In fact, some arrancar, like those creeps Iceringer and Demora, that purposely kept a form similar to that of a hollow over a human form. Those arrancar claimed they were stronger for not retaining a human form after they became arrancar. They were idiots. If that was true, then why did all of the Espada have human forms? Well expect for maybe Yammy and possibly that masked guy, Aaroniero.

True, those arrancar that were hollow-like in their appearance, had some superior abilities when compared to the actual levels of their spiritual power. Unfortunately, they were more like wild dogs then anything else. Vicious, violent and stupid. But they had their purpose. They were the guard dogs of Los Noches.

The hollow jumped into the air, hoping to crush her with his bulk. Of course, for that to work, she would have to be either immobilized, or slower or stupider then him.

She sonidoed out of the way and it crashed into ground.

"Heh heh heh heh. Not so strong now, tasty tasty little half-breed." it said in triumph.

"Oh really?" she said, now standing behind the lizard.

She grabbed it's tail and with a grunt, slowly started to spin it by it's tail, picking up more and more speed and momentum as she went. After several rotations, Tatsuki found herself starting to get a bit dizzy. So she let go of the hollow's tail. It flew into a cave wall and slid to the ground in a rather comical fashion. Tatsuki laughed at it.

"DON'T YOU DARE LAUGH AT ME HALF-BREED!! I'LL PEEL THE FLESH OFF YOUR BONES!!!" it shouted as it picked itself up and turned to face her.

Tatsuki sighed. "I'm bored. I think it's time to see how you taste."

Uncertainly crossed it's masked face. "What?! I thought you half-breeds didn't feast on other tasty tasty souls."

"That's a common misconception. We don't have the endless hunger and constant need to feed like hollows like you do. In fact, we can go years without feeding. We merely grow physically weaker and mentally unstable until we feed, but that takes several months for it to even start happening. Longer if we stay here in Hueco Mundo as we naturally consume the spiritual energy in the air, tiding us over for a time. But enough about that. It's time to end this."

"YOU CAN'T BEAT ME HALF-BREED!" it screamed as it swung a paw her.

She raised her left arm and fired a cero, destroying it's paw and most of it's forearm.

It howled and swung it's remaining paw at her. Tatsuki pulled out her sword and dodged the strike. She leap onto the back of it's paw and stabbed it. She started running up it's arm, pulling the sword up it's arm, cutting the limb along it's center. The hollow howled even louder then before. Tatsuki stopped at the shoulder and hacked it off. She leap off the hollow as it screamed in agony.

"Mercy mercy arrancar-sama." it pleaded as tried to back away.

"I don't think so. I'm feeling a little hungry. And lizard's on the menu." she replied before she devoured the hollow.

As soon as she finished it, the sound of clapping filled the cavern. "Picking on a bunch of weak hollows? That's not like you Tatsuki. You prefer a challenge over pointlessly crushing the weak." a voice with a Spanish accent said from behind her.

She turned around and saw Arturo Plateado standing behind her.

Arturo was one of the Privaron Espada. And one of the strongest of arrancar in Los Noches as well. Before Aizen began creating arrancar and the replacing the existing Espada with the arrancar he created, Arturo had held the number one position among the Espada. Though he wasn't as strong as the current First Espada, he was easily still in the top four.

He stood an inch or two taller then Ichigo, with gray eyes and spiked short black hair. He had aristocratic features. His mask fragment consisted of a piece running along the center of the top of his head and a piece covering his entire left cheek, including most of the left side of his mouth. Though oddly, that piece had no teeth, but rather a number of rectangular openings. Kinda like a piece of a Medieval helmet. He wore the standard white hakama and sandals and the black socks ad sash that most arrancar wore. He wore a coat similar to the ones Ulquiorra wore. His zanpaku-to rested on the left side of his belt. It was a western style double-edged sword with a gold handle and a blue sheath. He also wore a silver necklace with a silver icon hanging from it. The icon was a small book on top of pair of swords criss-crossing each other. (Basically the skull and cross bones but with swords in place of the bones and a book replacing the skull.)

"A trinket." he had told her once. "From when I was a human and a symbol of my belief. Knowledge is power."

He craved knowledge more then hollows craved souls. It was one of the reasons he had held the title of First Espada. He learned everything about the rest of the Espada, his followers, rivals, enemies and anyone else he encountered. And he used that knowledge to defeat his opponents before they even knew were beaten.

In fact, he was wanted alive by the 13 Court Guard Squads because he had repeatedly raided their libraries and had stolen a number of ancient scrolls and tomes from them. Scrolls and tomes they wanted back badly. Even Aizen would love to get his hands on those tomes and scrolls but Arturo had hid them well.

Perhaps that was why he was demoted from the Espada. He wouldn't share his knowledge with Aizen. And as a result, Aizen didn't trust him.

It didn't really matter to her. Arturo had been one the arrancar that had regularly help train them after they had been made into arrancar. And she liked him.

"So have you come to give me challenge then Arturo?" she asked.

He pondered her question for a moment before replying, "Nah. Wouldn't be fair. I actually came to tell you that Aizen-sama wants to speak to with you, Mizuiro in a couple of hours."

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. "What about?"

"Your next mission I believe."

"Really? Any idea what it is?"

"The rumor is that Aizen-sama's sending you back to Karakura for a while. Supposedly, he wants you three to help retrieve something of great value."

A grin spread across her lips at the prospect of returning to Karakura. A chance to repair her damaged pride.

"Really?" Tatsuki chuckled. "Now that will be fun tearing that place apart."

"Actually, it sounds like you'll be in your gigais most of the time."

Tatsuki groaned. Gigais again! She hated those things.

"Oh and by the way." Arturo added. "Aizen-sama wanted me to give you this back."

Arturo pulled out a small, round green pill and handed it to her. It was her mod soul.

"I'm surprised Aizen had Granz keep it after they returned and we were recovered." she said as she inspected the pill.

"I believe Aizen-sama felt they were too well made to simply discard after that one mission. So he decided to give them back to you three to do with as you please."

"Hn. I assume you've told Mizuiro and Keigo already."

"Actually, I figured you'd be looking for something to beat up, so I send Hisiki to tell them while I searched here for you. I'm kinda surprised you weren't searching for that lone soul reaper hiding out in the Forest of Menos."

"I didn't feel like messing with all the Menos Grande."

"True, they can be a hassle. Besides, you wouldn't be able to find that soul reaper, much less beat him anyway."

Tatsuki's eyes widened. He had hit the chink in her armor, her pride. "Oh, I'll find him and I'll kill him."

"Well then, let's see it."

* * *

Elsewhere

Keigo sighed as he tossed an apple up into the air, he caught and bit into it, then tossed it up again, starting the process all over again. He was sitting by himself on one of many buildings that made up Los Noches, staring out at the horizon. There something he found beautiful about Hueco Mundo's sky. True, the ground was a barren wasteland, devoid of anything save sand, dead trees and the occasional hollow. But the sky was a thing of beauty and if you stared at it at the right angle, even the desert of Hueco Mundo could look beautiful. Not at all like the rather plain skies of Earth and the Soul Society which was basically the same sky. Who ever created Hueco Mundo clearly put all their attention into the sky.

Keigo sighed again. He was bored. He had half expect Ichigo and the others to try to barge into Los Noches to 'rescue' them. Of course, it was stupid to think that would happen. There were only two ways for them to enter Hueco Mundo. Either they jump into an arrancar's Garganta before it closed or see if Urahara or the soul reapers had a means to enter Hueco Mundo. Of course, even if the latter was possible, it was unlikely that they would let Ichigo and the others walk into the lion's den for a trio of enemies.

The thought of Ichigo and the others 'rescuing' Mizuiro, Tatsuki and himself was a joke. They weren't prisoners being held against their will. They joined Aizen's army of their own free will. But Ichigo and the others couldn't seem to understand that.

And even if they did go with them, what then? They were arrancar. They won't be welcomed in the Soul Society. They'd be locked up, tortured for information, executed, then dissected. And if they were lucky, in that order.

There certainly wasn't anything for them in the living world either. Well, he had an older sister to kill, but other then that nothing.

He certainly no longer considered Ichigo and the others his friends any more.

_'Sorry Keigo. But you are too weak to be of any help, so we'll keep you in the dark everything and abandon you. Because you can't do anything helpful and will only get in the way. Like the clumsy idiot you are.'_

The clumsy idiot he had been before was dead. He had certainly proved that last night.

Beating the crap out of tattoo face had be gratifying. Though he wished he could have fought Ichigo or Chad, so he could show them how strong he had become. So he could show them that the weak, clumsy idiot they knew was dead. So he could show them that the bonds of friendship they had once shared were gone.

_'Ah well. There will still be other opportunities to show them. There's still a few months before Hogyoku is ready. Plenty of time to show them.'_

At this point, he had finished the apple. He threw the core as far as he could and pulled out one of his kamas and flung it at the apple core. The kama chased after the apple core and sliced it into little pieces before even came close to hitting the ground.

Keigo laid back and stared at the perpetual nighttime sky of Hueco Mundo. He kinda wished he had someone to talk to. Tatsuki wasn't in her room. She was probably looking for someone to fight. Mizuiro, on the other hand...well he knew where he was. He was having breakfast with Halibel. But he wasn't just having breakfast with her, but with her three equally hot Fraccion too.

_'It figures. In life, Mizuiro was attracted to older women and attracted older women. In death, half the female population of Los Noches is attracted to him. What makes him so special?'_

Perhaps, he'd see what Stark and Lilinette were doing, or maybe he'd check on Gantebainne and Dordonii or see if Wonderweiss wasn't with Tosen at the moment. He liked the childish arrancar, though he couldn't understand why he would spend almost all of his time with such an up tight guy like Tosen. Tosen said that Wonderweiss was a 'pure being' like himself and that pure beings tend to stick together.

_'What the hell's a pure being anyway?'_

Though Tosen didn't seem to like that Wonderweiss had started to spend more time with him before he and the others left for that recent mission. But then again, Tosen didn't particularly like him, Mizuiro or Tatsuki for that matter. Why? He didn't really know and honestly, he didn't care what Aizen's enforcer thought of him.

He heard a nearby static buzz. Keigo sat up and turned around. Standing a few feet away from him was Loly and Menoly.

He wasn't all that fond of those two, they could be really annoying at times. They were in love with Mizuiro, though Mizuiro didn't feel the same way. Mizuiro said that they were too 'childish' for his liking.

"Aww...Mizuiro isn't here." Loly said in disappointment.

"Nah. He's right now at Halibel's headquarters." he replied.

"Really?" Menoly asked.

"Yep. Though he's probably leaving there pretty soon, so you better hurry." he lied.

He'd let Mizuiro and Halibel deal with those two annoyances.

"Thanks!" the sisters shouted before sonidoing away.

He laid back down and closed his eyes. Only to where another static buzz. He sighed in annoyance and sat back up. This time it was Arturo's Fraccion, or rather ex-Fraccion as Privaron Epsada couldn't have Fraccion. Though she was extremely loyal to him and followed him anyway.

"Hey Hisiki." he greeted the female arrancar.

There was something familiar about light brown haired arrancar's face. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure figure out why.

"Arturo-sama and I were looking for you, Tatsuki and Mizuiro. Aizen-sama would like to talk to the three of you in a few hours. And we were asked to give you this." she answered as she handed him a green pill.

"Oh? What about?" he asked as he examined his mod soul.

"Your next mission." she replied.

Keigo nodded and said, "Mizuiro's with Halibel if you don't know."

She nodded. "Thank you."

Hisiki left to find Mizuiro and Keigo once again laid back and closed his eyes.

Someone was poking his face.

Keigo opened his eyes.

He grinned. It was Wonderweiss.

"Yay! Keigo's awake!" the childish arrancar said.

"Hey Wonderweiss. Did you miss me?" he said as he sat up and messed up Wonderweiss hair.

Wonderweiss nodded. "Yep yep. I like being around Tosen but I have more fun with you."

"Yeah. Tosen's kinda dull and up tight."

An entertaining idea entered Keigo's head.

"Hey Wonderweiss you wanna see something funny?"

He nodded his excitedly. "Yeah yeah!"

"C'mon. Loly and Menoly will soon be arriving at Halibel headquarters. But the two of us are faster then they are, so will get there just after they arrived."

The two of them sonidoed as fast as they could to Halibel's headquarters.

* * *

Later

Mizuiro, Keigo, Tatsuki and Ulquiorra stood patiently in Aizen's throne, waiting for him to arrive. Naturally, as Ulquiorra's Fraccion, they stood behind him.

Mizuiro was curious about what Aizen wanted to them now. The rumors were that it was to retrieve something important and powerful that Aizen wanted.

Mizuiro had good morning. A nice breakfast Halibel and her Fraccion. Until Loly and Menoly showed up.

He was starting to get very annoyed at those two. They were infatuated with him. He had tried repeatedly to politely tell them that he wasn't interested. But they seemed completely oblivious to that fact and repeatedly hit on him and tried to ask him out. Fan girls were like a very irritating rash.

No. Fan girls were worse than a rash.

He tried to get them to leave, but they didn't listen to him and continued to annoy everyone present.

Then Halibel got mad. That settled things pretty quickly.

After seeing that, Mizuiro found himself pitying anyone who got on her bad side.

Though afterwards, he swore he heard laughing nearby.

Aizen, flanked by Gin and Tosen, entered the room. As they entered, all four arrancar knelt down before the throne. When Aizen took his seat, he waved them up.

"I have a new mission for the four of you." Aizen said to them. "In fact, this mission is tailor made for you three. To retrieve something of great value from Karakura."

Now Mizuiro was really curious. Their last mission had been important, but this one sounded vital to Aizen's plans.

"What is it you want us to retrieve Aizen-sama?" he asked.

"I have found someone with an ability that violates the realm of gods."

"What?" both he and Keigo said.

What kind of power could violate the realm of gods?

"Basically, this person can reject an event happened. Say something like what happened to Grimmjow happens to you. This person could reject that you ever lost your arm, restoring completely. This person can even reverse death. This power could further be used to reject that something even existed."

Now Mizuiro understood what Aizen was after. This power could reverse death. If Aizen had someone that could that. His army would be unstoppable. If an arrancar fell in battle, this person could restore them to life to fight again. Creating as close as one could get to an unkillable army.

Then another thought entered his mind. This person was quite possibly the greatest risk to Aizen and his plans. They could use their power to destroy the Hogyoku. To reject that it had been created.

'_So Aizen wants a power that is both helpful and dangerous to him.'_

"Who is the one that possess this power Aizen-sama?" he asked.

A grin spread across his lips. "She is Miss Orihime Inoue."

"What?!" Tatsuki shouted. "That weakling has that powerful ability?!"

Which was Mizuiro sentiments exactly. He couldn't believe that a weakling like Orihime had such a power. A quick glance at Keigo showed that he too didn't believe it.

"Yes, she does possess that amazing ability." Aizen replied. "And I have a plan to bring her to Los Noches."

"What are your orders Aizen-sama?" Ulquiorrra asked.

"Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, you three are to..."

* * *

A Few Minutes Later (Aren't I evil. lol.)

"You three may leave. I wish to speak with Ulquiorra alone." Aizen said to his subordinates.

"As you command Aizen-sama." Mizuiro said before they walked out of the room.

"Ulquiorra, while your primary mission is to bring Orihime to Las Noches. Your secondary objective to make sure those three return here when Orihime brought here. They are the ultimate control we have over Orihime. As long as we them, she won't try to resist or escape."

Aizen bowed his head. "Yes Aizen-sama."

"Remember Ulquiorra, although they are important, they are second to Orihime."

Ulquiorra nodded.

"Is it wise Aizen-sama to trust them with this mission? If everything they have done up to now is a deception. Then they could ruin everything Aizen-sama." Tosen said.

Aizen smirked. "Even if they are trying to deceive us, it won't change anything. If the betray us or the plan somehow fails, it wouldn't change anything."

Aizen then added, "I however, do not believe that they will betray us. Why would they betray us for those they believe betrayed them?"

"Then you used your zanpaku-to's abilities on them Aizen-sama?" Ulquiorra asked.

"You were there when I told Ichigo exactly what did Ulquiorra. They aren't under any hypnosis or mind conditioning."

"Then how can you trust them so fully Aizen-sama? They were friends to Kurosaki and the others. It's quite possible that they will betray us in the end." Tosen argued.

Aizen sighed. He was growing tried of Tosen's dislike for them. Even after the had proven their loyalty, which they had actually done before they returned to Karakura, Tosen still believe that they were a danger. They weren't. Not with their current frame of mind.

"Tosen, is that you fear that they will betray us? Or is it that you don't like them because they are the only people that, besides yourself, Wonderweiss likes?"

Tosen hesitated while Gin chuckled.

"I thought as much. You have nothing to worry about Tosen. In their current state, they won't betray us. They're more likely to bring us Ichigo Kurosaki's head on platter than betray us."

A dark grin formed on his lips as he pictured the image of Tatsuki, Mizuiro, and Keigo presenting him Ichigo's severed head. All things considering, it was a possible outcome. A favorable one at that. Ichigo and those other humans were wild cards. Along with Urahara and Yoruichi, and the Vizards.

They were biggest threats to his plans. But he already had plans to remove them in the coming weeks. He knew already that Ichigo would come once he had Orihime. Likely, the other humans would come with him. It was even possible that some of the soul reapers would also follow them into Hueco Mundo. Against Yamamoto's orders, no doubt. As the captain-general wouldn't order them to attack Hueco Mundo unless it was a strike force of at least four to five captains and twice as many lieutenants and high seated officers. It was possible however, that Yamamoto would send a smaller team to temporarily cripple his operations and take out some of the Espada. (1)

The next couple of weeks would no doubt prove to be very interesting.

* * *

And that's all for now folks.

A nice little filer chapter and the introduction of two of my major OCs. Though they won't have much importance until around the time the captains arrive the Hueco Mundo arc. You won't be seeing much of them for now. And I acknowledge that the name Arturo Plateado is the name of a character from Bleach: Shattered Blade for the Nintendo Wii. (Disclaimer: I also don't own that game, I only own a copy of it) I loved the name so much that wanted to use it for my own character.

(1) My person belief on what the goal of the strike team Yamamoto send. The team seems just too small to actually take Aizen and his army out. And if the team was going to take out Aizen, Yamamoto would have sent at least one of his two strongest captains, if not both, Shunsui and Jushiro. I think the team is there to back up Ichigo and co. in the rescue of Orihime and to disrupt Aizen's plans any way possible.

It will be another two or three chapters, then I can finally start the Hueco Mundo arc. I have wanted to write the Hueco Mundo arc since I started writing this story. For a couple of reasons, most them I can't tell you as it will spoil the story. I will tell you that I will reveal the released forms of Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro during that arc.

Speaking of that arc, the latest chapter was so awesome. I have to say, Nnoitra's released form was different form from what I expected. But then, I could say the same for all of the Espada, save Grimmjow. Though I have say, it looks like Kenpachi may actually have started to or is about to communicate with his zanpaku-to. A very scary thought considering what he's done without know his zanpaku-to's name. I can't wait to see what happens next.


	11. Chapter 11

Yo everybody! Man am I happy. 35 reviews for this story. 3547 hits. 16 favorite stories and 16 story alerts. Far far better then my original expectations. Because of all of my fans, I have been driven to update this story as fast as I can.

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.

**Chatper Eleven**

Karakura Town

Monday 8:55 am.

"We're gonna be late." Mizuiro said.

"Of course we are. But it will make for a better entrance." Keigo replied in an amused tone.

Tatsuki laughed. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces. It'll be worth wearing these stupid gigais again."

Mizuiro and Keigo chuckled. "Yeah." Keigo said. "And we no longer have to act like a bunch of clueless humans."

"Yeah. All that acting was starting to get on my nerves." Tatsuki said. "At least now we can actually train while we're here."

"True. Before we had to give the appearance that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Now we can do as we please. Well, as long as we follow Aizen's orders anyway." Mizuiro said.

"Let the fun begin."

* * *

Kakakura High School

9:04 am.

Ichigo sat at his desk, barely paying attention to the teacher as she went through attendance. He found himself staring at three of the empty desks. Keigo's, Mizuiro's, and Tatsuki's desks.

He, Chad, and Orihime had wanted to go after them. To rescue them from Aizen's clutches. But Urahara had stopped them. He pointed out that they were in no condition to go into the heart of Aizen's headquarters and rescue three people who sooner fight them than go with them. Urahara further pointed out that the only that he could actually enter Hueco Mundo was through a Garganta. And at the moment, the only people who could use one were those under Aizen's command.

Urahara told them to be patient. He was working on a means to enter Hueco Mundo. But he recommended they wait till Aizen sent them out again. As it would be easier to capture them here than in Hueco Mundo.

"Well it looks like everyone is here expect for Uryu, Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo. You know, I'd like to have one day-"

The classroom door opened and Keigo, Mizuiro, and Tatsuki entered the room.

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat. He barely kept himself jumping out his seat.

Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro paid on attention to his, and no doubt the others, surprised reactions.

"Sorry for being late." Mizuiro said politely to their teacher.

"Whatever. Take your seats." she said.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the three walked to their desks. Their expressions were completely normal. Like nothing had ever happened. And Ichigo almost believed that what happened was a nightmare and nothing else.

Until their eyes meet his own. For a split-second and only a split second, feral grins spread across their faces.

This time Ichigo did jump out of his seat and onto his feet. Just about everyone stared at him.

"Ichigo, get back in your seat." the teacher said, annoyance laced in her voice.

"Sorry." he said as he took his seat.

As soon as he sat down, he, along with Orihime, Chad, Rukia, Renji and the rest of the soul reapers stared at the three of them. If they were aware of the nine people staring at them, they didn't show it. Again, Ichigo was reminded of how normal they looked. The second he saw them, he expected them to attack.

Instead, here they were. Sitting at their desks like nothing had happened.

Ichigo couldn't help but wonder why they were here. What purpose did Aizen have for sending them here like this?

He didn't like it. But at the moment, he couldn't do anything. Not in the middle of class. He'd have to wait.

* * *

12:00 pm.

The lunch rang and most of the class quickly left. Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki were among the first out the door.

Ichigo was about chase after them when Hitsugaya blocked his path, stopping him from following.

"I know you want to go after them Ichigo. But blindly chasing after them, will only get yourself killed." he said. "We need to be careful or it will be a repeat of last Friday."

Ichigo grimly nodded.

"Okay. First we need to let Urahara know." Hitsugaya turned to Rukia and said, "Rukia call Urahara and tell him what's happened and ask him if he felt a Gargante open up recently. Because none of us did."

Rukia nodded and pulled out her phone and started dialing Urahara's number.

"Now, we have to be careful. There's a lot of people here that could get caught in the crossfire. So have to avoid fighting unless we have no other choice. And if we do get into a fight, we have to get as far away from here as possible."

"Captain Hitsugaya." Rukia said.

"Yes?"

"Urahara wishes to speak to you." she replied, handing him her phone.

"Yes?" "I see." "Yes, I agree." "Alright, I'll tell them."

Hitusgaya hung up and said to everyone, "Urahara wants us to keep an eye on them. If they suddenly leave, we are to inform Urahara and Yoruichi follow them. He also said that we should avoid a confrontation if possible. But if you want to go speak to them right, then we should do it."

"We're going." Ichigo said, his tone leaving no room for arguing.

Everybody else nodded and they walked out of the classroom.

They quickly located them on the roof as they weren't making any attempt to hide their reiatsu.

As they climbed the stairs, Ichigo felt anticipation and dread rising in him.

Ichigo heard laughing as they reached the door to the roof.

"Oh man. Their faces were priceless. I only wish I could have taken a picture." he heard Keigo say in between laughs.

"Yeah." Mizuiro said. "Wonderweiss and some of the others would have gotten a kick out of seeing their faces."

"Ichigo, what are you waiting for? Open the door." Renji said from somewhere behind him.

Ichigo braced himself, expecting a fight the second he opened the door. The three of them were sitting together, eating lunch and talking.

But they didn't attack. Instead they just kept on eating their lunches and talking and laughing. They didn't even seem to notice them. Until they approached them.

"Hey Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, Rukia, everybody else! Oh, and tattoo face!" Keigo greeted him in the same tone he always greeted him in. "Hey Ichigo, why did you jump out of your seat this morning? Did we scare you?"

All three of them laughed at that comment.

"Why have you come back? Did you come back to fight us?" Renji asked.

"Fight you?" Mizuiro replied. "If we were here to fight you, then why didn't we fight you the second we arrived? And why for the matter, are we in gigais if we intended to fight you?"

"Then why are you here?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Now that would telling." Tatsuki said nonchalantly before biting into an apple.

"It doesn't matter. The three of you are coming with us." Ichigo said.

"Later. We're having lunch right now." Keigo said, his attention now back at his lunch.

"No. You're coming with us now." he said, the tone in his voice signaling that there was no room for argument.

"Why?" Mizuiro asked. "So you can turn us back into humans. Ha! We have no desire to go back to being humans. We're arrancar now. I suggest that you expect that Ichigo. That all of you expect it. Because nothing you say or do will change that."

"I refuse to believe that."

"Me too." Orihime said.

"Same here." Chad added.

"Then you are all fools." Mizuiro replied. "Now unless there's something else you want, leave."

"You're coming with us to Urahara's."

"You're coming with us. You're coming with us." Keigo said mockingly. "You're starting to sound like a broken record Ichigo."

"We didn't come here to fight you. So why don't you leave us alone and we'll leave you alone." Mizuiro said.

"Or you could fight us." Tatsuki added. "In which case, you'll end up beating us by sheer numbers, even if we are now at a hundred percent. But not before we cause a great deal of collateral damage. Damage we certainly don't care about, but you guys on the other hand probably will."

"Oh. That reminds me. There's another arrancar here in Karakura. And if we don't report in every couple hours, he will detonate three bombs we planted in Karakura." Tatsuki said with a smirk.

Ichigo was stunned. They had basically just said, 'Fight us and we'll kill as many innocent people as we can and we'll enjoy it'.

"How can you say that Tatsuki?" Orihime cried. "What about your friends,your family?"

The three of them snickered. "Any familiar bonds we had when we were alive, have been cut." Mizuiro answered. "I cut all ties with my mother years ago.(1) There is no one in Karakura we care about. I thought that would have been pretty obvious when we joined Aizen's army, considering he's gonna wipe this place off the map."

Rage filled Ichigo. Without thinking, he grabbed Mizuiro by the collar and lifted him off the ground. Tatsuki and Keigo quickly stood up, ready to come to Mizuiro's aid should the need arise.

"How could you say?! How can you not care about friends, your family?! How can you support a man who wishes to kill an entire city just so he could become a god?!"

His outburst had no effect on Mizuiro, who just stared back at him.

"It's simple." he calmly replied. "Let me ask you this Ichigo. Do you feel bad when you step on an insect? No, because an insect is beneath you. Just as humans are beneath us. Truth be told, we don't care what happens to Karakura or the rest of this world for that matter. Or even if Aizen becomes a god. We merely joined his army because we felt like it."

"You felt like it?! You felt like siding with Aizen over your friends, over your nakama!" he shouted in disbelief.

"Nakama!" The three of them laughed again. This time however, there was a bitter edge to their laugh.

"I thought I just said that all ties with our family _and _friends have been cut. But if you did understand it then, I'll say it much more clearly. We certainly don't consider you our friends anymore. So why would we fight on your side, especially considering the Soul Society will either lock us away or execute us for simply for being what we are."

Ichigo let go of Mizuiro. He was even more stunned then before. Not just by what Mizuiro said, but by his tone and his eyes as well.

There wasn't any hesitation or doubt in his voice or his eyes. He firmly believe in what he said. Ichigo honestly know what to think anymore.

Mizuiro sonidoed onto the fence on the ledge of the school's roof. "Now are you going to leave, or do you still want to fight us?" Mizuiro said as raised his right hand over the schoolyard and began charging a cero.

All of the soul reapers and humans present, stared at him in shock and disbelief.

"You can't be serious!" Rukia shouted. "There's dozens of people down there!"

Mizuiro shrugged. "Aizen gave us orders to avoid capture at any cost. Even if we have to kill a few dozen people."

Keigo added, "It's not like these people are important anyway. Hell, even if we wipe out this entire school, it won't affect the creation of the Key in the slightest. There's still more than enough people here to make the Key."

"So you can either leave and no one dies or you can fight us and we cause as much damage as we can." Tatsuki said as she snapped her knuckles.

Before anyone could respond, there was a spike of reiatsu in the air above them. Everyone looked up. A tear formed in the sky and a large centipede hollow dropped out. It flew down towards them, specifically right where Mizuiro was standing.

Mizuiro moved his right hand above his head. He sighed. "Troublesome pest."

He fired the cero at hollow, destroying half of it instantly. The rest of the hollow began to break apart into bits of energy. He then raised his other hand and all of this energy gathered into a ball in his palm. As soon as it finished forming, Mizuiro swallowed it.

It took Ichigo a moment to realize that Mizuiro had just devoured the hollow. Ichigo suppressed a shudder. The sight of Mizuiro devouring a soul, even if it was a hollow, was sickening.

"Where were we? Oh yes. Choose. Leave us alone or fight us."

"We're leaving." Hitsugaya said.

Ichigo, Orihime, Chad and all the other soul reapers looked at him in shock.

"I'm sorry. But we can't risk fighting here." Hitsugaya explained. "Not when there's so many civilians around and when our enemies will specifically target them. There will be other times."

Hitsugaya and others started to walk to stairs. But Ichigo didn't follow.

He knew Hitsugaya was right. But there was something he had to ask. Something he had to know.

"Why?" he asked. "Why did you cut your ties with us?"

Mizuiro smirked. "You misunderstood me Ichigo. I never said _we _cut our ties of friendship with you. Just that they had been cut. Truth be told, those ties were cut by _you_."

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat. Did they honestly think that?

"You abandoned us. We didn't matter anymore because we lacked your power."

"How?" he asked. "How can believe that?"

"Simple. It's the truth."

Aizen's words entered his mind.

"_You kept them in the dark about what was happening, and almost entirely cut yourself off from them, despite the fact that they were your friends. It was only natural for them to feel bitter and abandoned. So Kurosaki, if you're looking for someone to blame, you need only look into a mirror."_

"_Protect them? How does keeping them in the dark keep them safe? All it did was make them feel like you didn't care about them anymore."_

"_I have seen how those you call friends have neglected and abandoned you because you currently lack the power they possess. They think you are too weak to be anything but a burden if they told you the truth about the powers that they received and about the world you live in."_

"But that was then and this is now. We have that power now and we don't need you anymore. If your smart Kurosaki, you'll leave with the others."

Ichigo hung his head in defeat. The people he knew were truly gone. Replaced with soulless monsters. And at the moment, there wasn't a thing he could do.

* * *

8:30 pm.

Keigo took a sip from a bottle of water in his hand as he stood on the balcony of his family's apartment. He stared up at the night sky. It was a new moon tonight, which meant that it was a full moon in Hueco Mundo tonight.

He sighed. The full moon of Hueco Mundo was something to behold and the fact that he was missing it, annoyed him.

"What a nice night it is. And yet I'm stuck here instead in Hueco Mundo enjoying it. Ah well."

He set the bottle on the balcony railing and turned his attention to his left hand. Which was currently hanging past the railing and wrapped around his sister's mouth.

She looked absolutely terrified. Tears were pouring down her face and her arms were wrapped around his forearm.

"Now listen up as I'm only gonna say this once." he said to her in a serious tone. "I'm only going to be in this wretched place for the week, then I'm leaving for good. In the mean time, I'm no longer your little errand boy or your personal punching bag. You are not to talk to me unless you have to. Or I'll kill you. Do you understand?"

Mizuho nodded her head as best as she could.

"Good."

He lifted her up and back onto the balcony. As soon as he dropped her onto the balcony, she fell to her knees still scared out of her mind.

Keigo picked up his water bottle and started to walk away, when he stopped and turned his head back to her. "Oh, and if you tell anyone about what just happened. I'll kill you and them too." he said in his usual, goofy tone. "Have a nice night now."

He had gotten into the kitchen when his cellphone started ringing.

He raised the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Keigo." It was Ulquiorra.

"Yes Ulquiorra-sama?"

"Come to the meeting place immediately."

"As you wish."

He hung up the phone and turned to his sister, who was still a sobbing, scared mess.

"I'm going out. Be back in an hour or two."

He walked out of the apartment and came face to face with Ikkaku and Yamichika. No doubt Hitsugaya had ordered them to keep an eye on him. It wasn't really necessary. They were going to do anything until Friday. Hell, that whole bomb thing was a bluff to get them to leave them alone. He had to hand it to Tatsuki. She had come up with a story that would keep of the soul reapers out of their hair until it was too late.

"Evenin' fellas." he greeted. "Just going out for a stroll. You can come with if you want. Or you can go look at the mess I made in the apartment."

Both their eyes widened. No doubt fearing the worst, they ran into the apartment.

He resumed walking and began to whistle a cheerful tune.

* * *

Yumichika and Ikkaku quickly entered the room, fearing the worst. However, instead of finding a dead body, they found Keigo's sister, Mizuho, on her knees, looking terrified and crying.

As soon as they approached her, she jumped up and tackled Ikkaku in a big hug and started crying into his shirt. Ikkaku looked up at his friend with an expression that screamed 'help me'.

"I'll call Urahara." Yumichika said as he left his friend under the sobbing girl.

* * *

Urahara Shoten

"Hello?" "Figured you two would be calling. The other two are on the move as well. We'll see what their up to."

Urahara hung up the phone and turned to Yoruichi, who was in her cat form. "Well, all three of them are on the move. Likely heading towards the same place."

"I'll follow them and find out what's going on." Yoruichi said.

"Be careful. Even if it's only the three of them, they're likely prepared for anything, you included."

Yoruichi nodded. "Don't worry I will." she replied before she fast stepped out of the shop.

Urahara sighed as he rubbed his forehead. He knew Aizen had sent them back to Karakura for a reason. What that reason was, he didn't truly know. But he had some theories. The two most likely being either that Aizen was going to have them assassinate Ichigo and some of the others. It would be easy for them to do it too. They simply claim that somehow a small bit of their humanity had somehow awaken and was trying to battle back the dominate hollow side or something along those lines. Ichigo and the others would drop their guard and try to help them. Only to be stabbed in the back by them.

The other possibly was that Aizen was using them in order to get Orihime and keep her in Hueco Mundo. It was an effective way to keep her in check. Aizen could simply tell her that if she refused him to follow his orders or tried to escape, he slowly and painfully kill the three of them while Orihime watches. Chances are he'd let her to bring them back to life, only to do it all over again. He also could offer to give the three of them to her if she used her powers for him. And about a dozen different other things he could of.

Personally, he believed the second theory was the more likely one. But he believed that wasn't the original reason for Aizen turning them into arrancar. They had been turned far too early for Aizen to truly know about the full extent of Orihime's powers. Likely Aizen originally turned them into arrnacar, to use them as weapons against Ichigo and the others. It was the most effective and terrible weapon to use against people like Ichigo and his friends. After all, how could they fight to the death against their own friends?

Ultimately, he needed to know, what they were planning. And hope that there was something he could do to stop it before it was too late.

Urahara sighed and waited.

* * *

An Abandoned Warehouse

Keigo arrived at the warehouse second. Mizuiro beat him there and was sitting on a stack of old crates. Tatsuki arrived a few minutes after he did.

As soon as she did, the large main door of the warehouse closed and a glowing skull symbol appeared on the door. Signaling that the warehouse was sealed. Nothing could get in or out.

Ulquiorra stepped out of one of the back rooms.

"The final stages of the plan have been mapped out. Saturday morning, you three will approach Kurosaki, Sado, and Inoue, one on one. Claiming that you were under Aizen-sama's hypnotic control and are trying to fight it off. Once they lower their guard, you will kill them and bring their heads back here. During this, I will lead a group of arrancar to distract and kill the soul reaper team stationed here."

"I will remain here to keep an eye on you and if need be, I will detonate the explosive devices and free you should you be captured. However." he added. "I will not be here Friday night. So return here after school ends and remain here until Saturday morning."

"We understand Ulquiorra-sama." Tatsuki said.

Ulquiorra nodded. "Remember, Aizen-sama wants Miss Inoue dead above all others. She is the biggest danger to his plans. With her dead, there will be nothing that can stop Aizen-sama's plans."

"Of course. I'll personally take care of her." Tatsuki said with a smile.

"Good. You may leave now." Ulquiorra waved his arm and the seal on the disappeared.

The three of them nodded and left.

"Finally! In a few days, we'll be done with this place." Keigo said.

"Yeah." Tatsuki said. "I can't wait till Saturday. I can picture it now."

Tatsuki then hunched over like she was in pain and put a hand to her forehead. "Help me Orihime." she said weakly. "I don't know how long I can fight this. Please help me. Please Orihime. I'm scared...Ha ha ha ha ha!"

They all started laughing. As they laughed, they were all well aware of a black cat that was following them.

Just as all four of them had been aware that the cat had followed them into the warehouse and heard everything that happened.

Which was what they had planned for from the beginning. The whole act in the warehouse and the act they were currently performing.

Yoruichi would report back to Urahara. Urahara would either think that what they said in there was true. In which case, he would have Hitsugaya and his team follow them Friday after school, while keeping this information from Ichigo, Chad and Orihime. After all, how could they be expected to battle their 'friends'.

If Urahara didn't believe it, he wouldn't have any other choice but to send Hitsugaya's team anyway. As he had no other idea of what they were planning.

"Well, should we start training tonight?" Mizuiro asked.

"Nah. It'll attract the others. I don't feel like dealing with them tonight." Tatsuki said.

"Well then lets get something to eat." Keigo said.

Keigo could imagine Yoruichi tensing up right now. No doubt she thought they were talking about eating souls.

"Sure. There's a decent pizza place a couple of miles from here." Mizuiro replied.

"Last one there is paying." Tatsuki said before sonidoing.

Keigo and Mizuiro performed their own sonidos and followed her.

* * *

An Hour Later

The three of them left the pizza place with full stomachs and in the case of Mizuiro, a slightly lighter wallet.

Yoruichi had left them about ten minutes after they reached the restaurant. She had clearly felt that they weren't going to do anything dangerous. Which was true. They weren't going to do anything they would consider dangerous until Friday.

_'Until then, we'll just have some fun-'_

"Ouch!" a voice screamed from beneath them.

The three of them stopped and looked down.

Under Tatsuki's foot was a stuffed lion doll.

"Did that thing just talk?" Keigo asked.

Tatsuki picked it up and inspected the doll. "I think this thing has a piece of soul candy or a mod soul in it."

The doll gave no reaction or response.

Tatsuki shook it vigorously for a moment. Still no response.

"On second thought, maybe it isn't. Then I guess it won't mind if I tear off it's arms."

Tatsuki grabbed the lion's left arm and started to pull.

"OKAY! OKAY! LET GO OF ME!!" it shouted.

Tatsuki let go of it's arm, which the lion started to rub like it was an injury.

They stared at it for a moment before it realized that they weren't going to freak out.

"Hey, why aren't you all shocked by sight of a talking doll?" the lion asked.

"We know that you're a gikongan or a mod soul in a lion doll." Mizuiro said. "An interesting use of am artifical soul. We may have to try it with our own mod souls."

"You're soul reapers?"

Keigo smirked. "Yeah, something like that."

"So who are you and what are you going wondering around town in a stuffed lion doll?" Mizuiro asked.

"I'm Kon, a super powerful mod soul and God's gift to ladies!" the mod soul shouted out in pride.

_'God's gift to ladies...He's got to be kidding me.'_ Keigo thought to himself.

"So what are you doing out here Kon? Shouldn't you be with your soul reaper until he needs to use you?" he asked.

"But Ichigo's so boring to be around." he whined.

_'So this thing is Ichigo's mod soul.'_

"Especially right now. He's all moody and stressed out over something bad that happened to a couple of his friends. I don't know who or what happened to them but I do know that he's no fun to be around right now. So I left and when looking for chicks."

"Well." Tatsuki said to him. "We know why Ichigo's so upset. Those friends of his were turned into arrancar."

"What?! Oh man. That really sucks."

"Do you wanna know something else?"

"What?"

A feral grin spread across Tatsuki's face. "We're those friends of his."

* * *

And that's all for now.

(1) Read the extra chapter in Bleach Vol. 12. It shows how Mizuiro and Keigo met Chad and Ichigo and during that chapter, Mizuiro says to his girlfriend, "I don't have a mother.".

I just read the latest chapter of Bleach. And it was awesome. Nnotira made the biggest mistake ever. He tried to hurt Yachiru. He's dead man no matter how many arms he grows.

Anyone who wants to know where to find the latest chapter of Bleach, Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist and others. Go to That's where I go for all the latest chapters of my favorite mangas.

Please Review!


	12. Chapter 12

Yo everybody! Chapter 12 is finally done! And for those who missed my note. (which I replaced with this chapter) I have finished reediting of chapters 2-7 and have posted them. There's no real major changes that I've done to them, save that I changed the amount of Tatsuki's, Mizuiro's and Keigo's power that was sealed. It's now a third instead of a quarter. Also I have lengthen a few parts of the fights. Mostly, I just fixed the errors that I discovered long after I posted the chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. If I did, Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro wouldn't have become minor characters after the opening arc.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Tuesday 7:47 am.

Kurosaki Residence

"Ichigo, wake up."

"C'mon Ichigo. Wake up."

"Do you want me to get your father to wake you up?"

Ichigo groaned as he opened his eyes. He hated mornings. But it could have been worse. It could have been his father waking him up instead of Rukia. He hated his father's wake up calls even more.

"Yeah yeah. I'm up." he said as he sat up.

He was still quite tired. His sleep had been anything but restful. But then that wasn't a surprise considering what had happened over the last of days.

He wanted to do something, but he couldn't. Not with their threats hanging over the air. Even if the bombs weren't real, there still was threat of them killing as many civilians as they could before they could be subdued.

If he hadn't seen Mizuiro charge up a cero that was pointed at all those people, he wouldn't have believed that they were capable of such a thing.

But now...

They weren't the people he knew anymore. Now they were monsters devoid of any traces of the people he knew.

The previous night, Hitsugaya, Renji, Rangiku, Ikkaku and Yumichika kept an eye on the three of them, until they had each received a phone call. After that, the three left their homes and Yoruichi followed. She watched them walk to some old warehouse. And when she returned, Urahara called them to his shop. When they got there, Yoruichi told them all what she saw.

Ulquiorra had been there, waiting for Keigo, Mizuiro, and Tatsuki. The four of them discussed their plans. They were planing on Saturday morning to trick Chad, Orihime and himself and then kill them while Ulquiorra would lead a strike team to distract and kill Hitsugaya and his team.

Urahara recommended that they don't actively interfere in anything they do until Saturday. Unless they had to defend themselves or others. Then when Saturday came, they would catch them off guard and capture them before they flee or fight back.

Then hopefully, they could find a way to reverse what Aizen did to them.

Suddenly, Ichigo heard something, distracting him from his thoughts. It was faint and he wasn't sure if he had actually heard something or was just hearing things.

He heard it again. It sounded like faint, muffled shouting. And it was coming from his window.

Ichigo pushed the blinds apart, revealing something covered in duct tape and taped to the outside of his bedroom window.

"What is that?" Rukia asked.

"No clue."

He opened the window and pulled the object off the window. He then sat back down on his bed and began peeling off the tape, revealing something wrapped in a plastic bag.

"Get this stuff off me!" it shouted.

"Kon?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah! Now get this stuff off me!"

He peeled off the remaining tape and tore the plastic bag off.

It was indeed Kon...or at least something that looked like Kon.

Truth be told, it looked someone had turned Kon into the Frankenstein's monster of stuffed animals. His tail was now a bright green lizard tail, and his right leg and left arm were from a pink teddy bear. His ears had been replaced with white rabbit ears and the left half of his mane had been replaced with bright red rag doll hair. His body was covered in patches of fur from other kinds of stuffed animals. The quincy cross that Uryu placed on the back of his head had been replaced with a white skull.

"What happened to you?" Ichigo asked as he and Rukia struggled to keep from laughing.

"What happened to me?! It was your three psycho friends! They mutilated my beautiful body! Look at me! What woman would want me now?!"

Ichigo instantly knew happened. Kon had bumped into Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo last night. And they had 'redesigned' Kon.

"Well...There's not much I can do." Ichigo said to the disfigured stuffed animal. "I have no idea where Uryu is, so I can't get him to fix you. So you can either go through Yuzu's stuffed animals for a new body or you can wait till I can get you a new body."

"Awww man. All of your sister's stuff is too girly. And knowing you, you'll pick something lame and uncool."

Ichigo sighed in annoyance and said monotonously, "I won't get you anything lame or uncool. I'll just get you an identical lion body."

"You better or-."

"Yeah, yeah." Ichigo interrupted.

Ichigo stood up and said to Rukia, "C'mon. Lets get some breakfast."

The two left the room, while Kon hid under the bed. Waiting until Ichigo brought back a new body for him.

* * *

Forty Minutes Later

Rukia and Ichigo began their walk to school. There was very little said between the two of them.

Rukia was actually kinda glad that he wasn't saying much. Her thoughts were on what happened late last night.

_Rukia was asleep when something started shaking her. Rukia's eyes shot open as a hand covered her mouth. Rukia looked up at the person whose hand was on her mouth._

_It was Yoruichi._

_Yoruichi put her free index finger in front of her mouth, signaling for her not to say anything. Rukia nodded and Yoruichi removed her hand. She sat up as Yoruichi silently walked over to the open window. She motioned for her follow before leaping out the window. Rukia followed._

_Once they were outside, Yoruichi said, "What I'm about to tell you must remain a secret. What Urahara and I told you earlier tonight was the whole truth."_

"_What? What do you mean?"_

"_Urahara and I both agreed that we couldn't tell Ichigo, Chad, and Orihime everything that I heard. I tell them that Ulquiorra won't be in Karakura Friday night."_

"_What? Why didn't you tell them this?" she asked._

"_Ichigo, Orihime and Chad can't fight them. Last Friday proved that. If they went, then it would just be a repeat of the that battle."_

"_So basically you lied to them."_

"_Yes, we lied. I won't deny that. The plan to capture them on Saturday morning is a lie." Yoruichi said. "The real plan is for Hitsugaya and the rest of his team to follow them after school Friday. You will stay behind so Ichigo and the others won't get too suspicious. Hopefully they'll be able to catch them off guard and capture them quickly and quietly. Before Ichigo and the others realize what's happening and try to join the fight."_

"_I still don't understand." she said. "Why shouldn't they be there? Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo are their friends. Shouldn't they be able to help capture them?"_

"_If they fought Ichigo and the others, all they would have to do is pretend that they were old selves again and Ichigo and the others would drop their guard for a moment. And that's all they'll need to kill them. Now do you understand why we can't let them fight?"_

_Rukia nodded before making her way back to the bedroom._

She had understood what Yoruichi said. But at the same time, she felt that they shouldn't try to prevent Ichigo, Orihime and Chad from fighting. They were their friends. Shouldn't they be the ones to capture them and if need be, destroy them?

But she was duty bound to follow Captain Hitsugaya's orders. And she was also afraid that what Yoruichi said would come to pass. That they would suddenly act like they were their old selves so they trick them and kill them.

Rukia hoped that this week would pass without much incident. She certainly didn't like the idea of being in a fight with them again. She was still sore from last Friday's battle.

* * *

Friday 4:00 pm.

Kurosaki Residence

Rukia sighed as she finished changing out of her school uniform and into some casual clothes. She was relieved that this whole thing was coming to an end soon.

Things hadn't gone as Rukia hoped. Thought, the two groups didn't actually fight each in the following days. It did however, get pretty close to an all out battle several times over the course of the week.

The first instance was Tuesday morning as they made their way to school.

A few blocks from the high school, they ran into Mizuiro and Keigo in an alley, with a gang of punks that were frequently put in the hospital by Ichigo and Chad.

The gang of seven guys had apparently jumped Keigo and Mizuiro in an attempt to have some vengeance against Ichigo and Chad. It probably would have worked...if they were still human.

Instead of beating up a pair ordinary teenagers, the thugs were the ones being beaten up.

Three were out cold. And of the four still conscious, one was nursing a broken nose and was missing several teeth. Another was cradling a broken arm. The third was unharmed, but was cowering behind a dumpster. And he had also apparently lost control of his bladder.

The final guy, the gang's leader, was on his knees. Keigo and Mizuiro had both grabbed one of the his arms and put a foot on his back.

Both greeted Ichigo and herself calmly as they pulled on the punk's arms, causing him to cry out in pain.

Ichigo demanded that they stop. Keigo and Mizuiro didn't listen. Instead, they continued to pull until a pair of sickening snaps filled the air. They then kicked the guy's head into the ground.

Ichigo shouted at them, berating them for their actions. They both laughed in his face and called him a hypocrite. Pointing out the he himself, frequently put these same thugs in the hospital and that in the end what they did wasn't any from what he did to them. Mizuiro commented that the only difference between them was that they took a sense of enjoyment in their handiwork while Ichigo didn't.

It looked like a fight was going occur, when the two of them started laughing. They walked pass Ichigo and herself, like nothing had happened.

Tatsuki wasn't much better. She completely ignored Orihime and the other girls that she usually hung out with. Even after Chizuru gave Orihime one of her 'hugs', she still didn't respond, surprising Chizuru and the rest of the girls. In fact, by the end of Wednesday afternoon, Chizuru gave up on hitting on Orihime, saying that there wasn't any thrill to it anymore.

Then in evening, everyone felt a sudden spike of reiatsu. Ichigo, herself, Chad, Orihime, captain Hitsugaya and the rest of the team quickly followed it to it's source, an abandoned warehouse. When they got there, they found Keigo and Mizuiro sparring while Tatsuki was watching.

Mizuiro and Keigo stopped sparring and the three of them greeted them in mocking tones, then the trio asked why they were interrupting their training and if they they wanted to be their training dummies.

Ichigo looked ready to make an attempt to capture them right then and there. But before anyone could do anything, Ulquiorra appeared. Holding what looked like a detonator in his hand.

Ulquiorra didn't say anything. The detonator spoke for him. Try anything and innocent people will die.

They did the only thing they could do, they left quietly.

And that was only Tuesday.

Wednesday and Thursday followed a similar pattern. They taunted them during the morning and afternoon, then in the evening returned to the same warehouse, so they could train and spar. It was like the three of them were testing to see what they get away with. There were times when they were practically daring to attack them. But they couldn't, not with the threats they made. Real or not, they couldn't take the chance.

As a result, by the time Friday came around, everyone was on edge. Waiting for them to do something truly horrible.

But then the strangest thing happened. Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo were oddly quiet and subdued. Or at least compared to the last couple of days.

Perhaps it was part of their ploy to trick Ichigo and the others. Make it seem like the human part of them was slowly trying to reassert itself, causing them to act less malicious before the human side 'regained control'.

Then instead of returning to their homes, the three of them started the long walk from the school to where the warehouse was. Captain Hitsugaya and the rest were following them.

Hopefully, they would be able to capture them without a fight. Of course, even if a fight did break out, Hitsugaya, Renji, and Rangiku already had their seals removed. So the five of them should be able to capture them quickly and without too much trouble.

Suddenly, a massive spike of reiatsu surged through the air.

She turned her in the direction of the reiatsu. The warehouse.

She quickly scanned the reiatsu. A group of Espada level arrancar had appeared at the warehouse.

Then it hit her. It had all been a trap and they all fell for it.

Ichigo bolted into the room, already in soul reaper form.

Before he could say anything, she nodded at him and quickly shallowed a soul candy. They left, heading to where Captain Hitsugaya and the others were already fighting.

* * *

Five Minutes Earlier

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya and his team, minus Rukia, had been secretly following the three arrancar for almost half an hour now. And nothing, aside for the the trio calling their families ten minutes earlier and telling them that they wouldn't be there for dinner, had happened.

Toshiro hated Aizen even more for what he had done to those three. True, he never knew them before all this happened, but it reminded him of what he did to Momo. Twisting her mind, making her think that he was the traitor. And worst of all, Momo still believing that Aizen was a good man. That he wasn't a traitor. That he was being used or manipulated by Gin.

Toshiro didn't believe that for a minute. Aizen had shown his true colors. If anyone was being used or manipulated, he believed that it would likely be Gin or Tosen. Though, he seriously doubted that.

Of course, what Aizen did this time was take it a step further. Not only twisting their minds but their bodies as well.

He noticed that they were almost at the warehouse, so he pushed aside those thoughts and focused on the present.

The three arrancar had reached the warehouse and where currently talking amongst themselves at the entrance of the building.

Toshiro pulled out his container of soul candy and shallowed one. The rest of his team followed suit.

The five of them flash-stepped and surrounded the arrancar.

"Oh what do we have here?" Keigo said. "A group of soul reapers looking for a fight."

"Surrender and we won't hurt you." he said to them.

The arrancar laughed and Mizuiro said, "We aren't the ones your looking for."

"What?" Renji said. "What the hell are you talking-"

Renji was interrupted by Tatsuki grabbing Keigo and stuffing her hand down his throat and pulling out a piece of soul candy, causing Keigo's body to lifelessly fall to the ground.

Toshiro was stunned. When they switch out? They had kept a close eye on them just about all of the time.

"When did they switch with you?" he asked.

"Last night. They never returned to their gigais after they finished training." the fake Tatsuki answered as she placed the soul candy back in Keigo's mouth.

It didn't make sense. Why go through the trouble of having artificial souls pose as them?

The realization of what was happening hit Toshiro like a kido spell. They knew Yoruichi was spying on them. This was all a setup.

"It's a trap!" he shouted to his team.

At that instant, a Gargante opened up above them. Grimmjow, Luppi, Yammy and a childish looking arrancar appeared.

Grimmjow scanned the area before saying, "He's not here. Where the hell is Kurosaki?!"

The artificial soul in Tatsuki's body replied, "Tatsuki and the others are dealing with them."

"What?! That bitch! Kurosaki is mine!"

Grimmjow started leaving when Renji flash-stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"I don't think so arrancar. If you want a piece of Ichigo, then you have to go through me first."

Grimmjow smirked and replied, "You don't stand a chance. A warm up before the main event won't hurt. Well, at least not me anyway."

Toshiro and the rest of his team turned their attention to the other arrancar. Yammy and Luppi were both Espada level arrancar and judging by the other arrancar's spiritual pressure, he was as well.

This was gonna be a difficult battle to say the least.

* * *

Elsewhere

Tatsuki grinned as Hitsugaya and his team battled her fellow arrancar. She, Keigo and Mizuiro were too far away to actually see what was happening but they could sense it.

They had fallen for their plan quite easily. Just as Aizen predicted.

Yoruichi followed them to the warehouse where they put on that little performance. Naturally, she and Urahara had at least partially believe it and made plans to capture them on Friday, when Ulquiorra wasn't present. Which was about the only true part of their performance. Ulquiorra left Karakura this morning.

As predicted, Urahara and Yoruichi didn't tell Ichigo, Chad and Orihime of their plan to capture the three of them. Sending Hitsugaya and the majority of his team to do it instead. Expect, they didn't go to school today. Instead, they sent their mod souls in their place.

Hitsugaya and his team followed them to the warehouse where the trap was. As made their way, their mod souls called to confirm that Ichigo, Chad and Orihime were not with the group.

And all that was left, was for them to distract Ichigo, Chad and Rukia while Ulquiorra acquired Orihime.

"Well then, let's have some fun." Keigo said with a grin.

Tatsuki pointed in one direction and said, "Orihime is there."

She always knew where Orihime was, expect for when she was in Hueco Mundo. It was an ability she possess before she was made into an arrancar.

She moved her hand in a different direction and added, "There's two in that direction. Which I believe is Ichigo and Rukia."

Tatsuki moved her hand to a third and final direction. "And the last one is there. Likely Chad."

"I want Chad this time." Keigo said.

"Have him. He was to slow and weak for my liking." Mizuiro replied. "Of course, this that's probably true for all of them. At least in a one on one fight."

"Yeah." Tatsuki agreed. "I doubt Ichigo can cut me with just his bankai this time. But that aside, we can still have some fun."

Keigo and Mizuiro nodded before she and Mizuiro started running towards the location of the two individuals while Keigo went after the lone individual.

It didn't take very long for the two of them to intercept the two targets.

They stood in the path of the two, waiting for them to arrive.

She was right. It was Rukia and Ichigo.

The two of them stopped the second they saw Mizuiro and her.

"What's this?" she said. "Two uninvited soul reapers trying to crash a private party? Sorry but this is as far as you go."

"This happens to be as far as I want to go." Ichigo replied. "Tatsuki, Mizuiro, your coming with me. Even if I have to break your arms and legs. BANKAI! Tensa Zangetsu!"

Tatsuki snickered at him. "Last time, you lost to me. This time won't be any different."

Ichigo rushed her and swung Zangetsu down on her right shoulder. Only to see to his and Rukia's surprise, it didn't even cut her uniform.

"What...?" Ichigo said in disbelief.

"Oh! That's right! We forgot to mention that the last time we fought, a third of our power was sealed. But now, we're unsealed and at a hundred percent." she said with a smirk.

She grabbed the blade, which now felt quite dull to her and threw it and Ichigo behind her.

"Mizuiro, would you please deal with Rukia for me? Last time I fought Ichigo, she tried interfere and ruin the fight."

"Of course." Mizuiro replied as he turned to Rukia.

"Tell me Rukia. You've seen ceros but have ever seen this?"

Mizuiro raised his both of his palms at her and began charging not one, but _two_ ceros.

"What...Impossible." a stunned Rukia said just before Mizuiro fired them.

Two large explosions tore through the pavement where was standing.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo shouted.

"Relax Ichigo." Mizuiro said. "She dodged them. Barely."

The smoke cleared, revealing Rukia on her knees, barely a foot away form the left crater.

"Like my Mellizo(1) Ceros Rukia?" Mizuiro asked. "In exchange for reducing a cero's power in half, I can fire two at the same time."

Mizuiro grinned and added, "How about I show you it again."

"No you don't!" Ichigo shouted as lunged at Mizuiro from behind.

Mizuiro spun around and caught Ichigo's zanpaku-to one-handed.

"I bet you thought I was the weakest one of the three of us. You thought that other then my ceros and balas and my special ability, that I had nothing. I don't blame you. I look weak and frail." he commented as he held the sword. "But I'll let you in on something. Overall, all three of us are on the same level."

The expression on Ichigo's face was priceless. He actually believe that Mizuiro was weaker then her.

"Tatsuki, I believe you want to fight Ichigo, right?" Mizuiro said before firing a bala at Ichigo's chest, sending him flying back.

The second Ichgo got back on to his feet, she lunged at him, driving her knee into his gut. Tatsuki followed it up with a barrage of punches.

Ichigo stumbled backwards but stayed standing. He raised his left to his face and said, "I didn't want to use this against you Tatsuki. But you leave me no choice."

He brought his hand down and his mask appeared on his face.

Tatsuki had seen him use it once against Grimmjow. It had boosted his strength beyond Grimmjow's. But it only seemed to last a very short time before breaking and him weaker than before he the mask on.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo shouted as he swung his zanpaku-to, releasing a wave of black energy from the blade.

Tatsuki's eyes widen as the powerful wave of black energy surged towards her. She barely managed to draw her sword and attempt to block the attack. Her sword blocked the worst of it but she had still received a large burn across her abdomen.

The instant she blocked the attack, Ichigo disappeared. He reappeared behind her and swung his sword horizontally. She leap forward, barely dodging the blow.

Tatsuki turned to attack Ichigo with her own sword. But Ichigo was too fast for her. He sidestepped her attack and delivered a powerful uppercut, sending her flying into the air.

Ichigo flash-stepped into her path and swung his zanpaku-to. Tatsuki barely managed stopped her flight and block the attack. Ichigo swung his zanpaku-to again and again. Each time she barely blocked the attack. But she couldn't keep up the pace for much longer.

She wasn't gonna last much longer unless the mask broke or she could release zanpaku-to.

"It's over Tatsuki." Ichigo said. "Getsuga Tenshou!"

He swung his sword. The black energy swirling around it again. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he started to swing it forward.

_Crack...crack...crack...CRACK!_

To the surprise of both of them, Ichigo's mask broke.

The black energy around Ichigo's zanpaku-to faded as a feral grin spread across her face.

Before Ichigo could regain his composure, Tatsuki was on him. She hit him with barrage of punches followed by an axe kick.

Ichigo fell and hit the ground like a rock.

Tatsuki turned to Mizuiro as she descended to the ground. He and Rukia weren't fighting at the moment. Likely they had been watching her and Ichigo go at it.

"Mizuiro, how long was that?" she asked.

Mizuiro smirked and replied, "Eleven seconds. Just like last time."

When she reached the ground, she walked over to where Ichigo was trying to get up. "Impressive Ichigo. But you clearly haven't been training as hard as you could have. If I was you, I would have been training so I could use that mask for longer then a rather pathetic eleven seconds."

Tatsuki sheathed her sword and lifted Ichigo by his collar. "Time for some fun."

"ICHIGO!" Rukia shouted as she started running towards them.

Mizuiro stepped in front of her and drew his sword. "Your forgetting about me Rukia."

Tatsuki cranked her right fist back, focusing reiatsu into her fist. She drove it into Ichigo's chest, sending him flying a good block and a half back.

She walked over to a nearby street light, grabbed it and ripped it out of the ground. Tatsuki slung it over her shoulder and started walking towards Ichigo.

Ichigo was on his hands and knees, breathing heavily. Ichigo looked up as she approached.

"You know Ichigo, this is a little nostalgic." she said to him. "Back when we were both human, you couldn't beat me."

She raised the street light over her head and added, "And now, after we have both become superior to humans, you still can't beat me."

Tatsuki started to swing the street light down, when a ball of energy struck the pole, destroying it.

"My, my. Although I really don't like to butt into a soul reaper fights. Guess it can't be helped."

Tatsuki and Ichigo both turned to the source of the voice. A blond haired guy standing on the roof of a nearby house, a zanpaku-to slung over his shoulder.

"There'd be no way that I could ignore this battle, if you were making so much racket so close to me."

Tatsuki found that there was something familiar about this guy. And it wasn't that he looked like he could be son of Gin and Nnoitra wearing a bad wig.

Then she remembered. The last day she had been human, there was some strange new guy in class, who had written his name backwards.

"You're Shinji Hirako right?"

"You know my name? I thought Aizen wasn't aware of our identities."

"Wait a minute. I've seen your face before." Shinji added before pausing to stare at her for a moment.

His eyes widen as the realization hit him.

"You're that girl. Orihime's tomboy friend. Can't remember your name. But it looks like Aizen sunk his talons into you."

"The name's Tatsuki Arisawa. And it looks like your another soul reaper, whose about to have their ass handed to them by an arrancar."

"I'm not a soul reaper and I normally don't fight women. But it doesn't look like I have much of a choice."

"No you don't." she replied before pushing off the ground and charged him, her fist raised.

Shinji flash-stepped out of the way at last second, causing her to hit and destroy the section of roof he was standing on.

She lunged at him again and again. Each time Shinji dodged the attack and house or a parked car or something else took the attack.

"Geez. Can't you hold back a little bit. If you keep on destroying things every time I dodge your attack. Then I'm gonna start feeling bad about dodging."

Tatsuki grinned and said, "Where's the fun in holding back?"

Shinji sighed. "So bloodthirsty." he said as he raised his left hand to his face. "Looks like I'm gonna have to use this."

He brought his hand down and a mask appeared on his face.

_'He's like Ichigo!'_

Shinji flash-stepped and reappeared a split-second later in front of her, swinging his sword over his head. Tatsuki barely brought her arms up to protect herself from the attack. Pain shot through her as his sword cut into her forearms.

Tatsuki tried to counter with a kick, but Shinji was gone before her leg could connect.

Tatsuki quickly drew her sword and blocked his second attack.

But Shinji didn't let up. He attacked again and again. And Tatsuki was struggling just to keep up with his attacks and block them.

He was definitely faster than Ichigo was. She needed to release her zanpaku-to or she was gonna die without landing a single blow.

Unfortunately, she couldn't release her zanpaku-to and protect herself from his attacks at the same time.

Shinji flash-stepped again. This time however, he moved away from her.

He raised his free hand and began to gather energy into it.

Tatsuki instantly knew what it was. A cero.

"Impossible!" she shouted. "No soul reaper can use a cero!"

"I told you." Shinji replied. "I'm not a soul reaper."

Shinji released the cero and it surged towards her.

* * *

That's all for now.

(1) Spanish for twin

I finally finished this chapter. It took me longer then I thought to write this chapter. But I suffered writer's block.

I did however, during my writer's block, complete the prologue and most of the first chapter of Zanpaku-to, my Naruto/Bleach story. Which will be posted shortly after I finish chapters 12 and 13 for Hollowfication, which will end with the beginning of the Hueco Mundo arc.

I can't wait start to writing the Hueco Mundo arc and finally revealing the released forms of Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro as well as a few others things I have planned.

Oh, and I have decided now on Neji's and Shino's zanpaku-tos. Neji will get Byakuya's and Shino's getting Tosen'

Though I have to say that latest chapters of Bleach have been awesome. Frankly, I can't wait until the anime gets to the Kenpachi/Nnoitra fight. In fact, before the fight occurred, I didn't really care about Nnoitra. I didn't hate him, but I didn't like him either. Though, I did like his scythe zanpaku-to. Now, he's my favorite arrancar. (**Spoiler alert**) And as a result, I'm keeping him alive and maybe Tesla as well. Haven't decided about him.

Later.


	13. Chapter 13

Yo everybody. Back again with another chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.

I have to say that I'm gonna miss Nnoitra. He was the coolest Espada of all time. The only guy that can considered Kenpachi's equal and rival.

**Chapter Thirteen**

4:02 pm.

Karakura Town

Orihime as fast as she could. Just like everyone else, she had felt that massive spike of spiritual energy.

She honestly didn't know what was going on, but she didn't care. She wanted to help Ichigo and the others. She wanted to prove to everyone and herself that she wasn't a burden. And above all. she wanted to save Tatsuki, Mizuiro, and Keigo.

"Where do you think you're going?" a cold, monotone voice called out from behind her.

Orihime stopped dead in her tracks. She knew that voice.

Orihime turned around.

Staring back her was Ulquiorra.

* * *

Elsewhere

Wonderweiss found himself amazed at this world. This world of the living was new and different from Hueco Mundo.

The sky was bright and blue like the inside of the dome of Los Noches and had a golden glowing orb in the sky. It was kinda like the moon in Hueco Mundo. The ground wasn't covered in the white sand and the trees weren't made of crystal and they were covered in green, orange, yellow and red things.

There were even little things flying in the air that were fun to squish.

Yammy said something to him. But he wasn't paying attention to him. He didn't like Yammy. Or Luppi and Grimmjow for that matter. Which is why he doesn't talk to them.

He wondered where Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki were. He liked them. They were fun and Keigo promised to bring him some food from this world that he called 'candy'. He said that candy was as delicious as a gillian.

Wonderweiss glance at the battle going on around him. Grimmjow was fighting that red haired guy that Keigo called Tattoo Face. Luppi was fighting with all the other soul reapers with his tentacles. Yammy sitting back and watching Luppi and Grimmjow, looking bored.

Wonderweiss felt bored too. So, he decided that he was gonna go find Keigo, Tatsuki and Mizuiro.

He heard Yammy yell something at him as he left. But he wasn't paying attention.

Using his pesquisa, he quickly found the three arrancars. Two were close to each other with two other beings with them. One of the other two beings, felt weird. Like an arrancar but not an arrancar. He didn't like it.

The third arrancar was a little closer then the other two. There was also another being with that one.

Wonderweiss decided to go to the closest one.

A minute later and he arrived that the first arrancar's location.

It was Keigo, who was fighting some big guy with mismatched arms in the middle of an empty street.

"Hey Keigo!" he shouted.

Both Keigo and mismatched arms looked up. "Hey Wonderweiss! What'cha you doing here?"

"I was bored. And I don't like the others."

"Yeah. They're no fun." Keigo said. "Oh, where are my manners. Wonderweiss, this big gorilla is Yasutora Sado or Chad as everyone calls him. A former friend of mine."

The big human suddenly, ran at Keigo and tried to attack him while he was talking to him.

But Wonderweiss wasn't about let this big guy attack his friend. He sonidoed in front of the human's path, grabbed his strange right arm and flipped the human over his head.

The human landed head first on the concrete behind him. Keigo walked up to him and messed his hair affectionately and said, "Thanks Wonderweiss. How about we get you some candy."

Keigo lead him to an empty store with a big colorful sign on the front of it, across the street. The inside was full of shelves with colorful things on them. He had never so many colors in one place before.

"Go ahead." Kegio said. "Everything on the shelves is candy."

Wonderweiss picked up the nearest thing. Something called an Aero Bar. He raised it to his mouth and took a bite out of it. The skin was bland. But the insides were so good!

He quickly stuffed the rest of it in his mouth, savoring the flavor of the Aero bar.

"That was good!" he said.

"I thought you'd like it. But your not suppose to eat the wrapper."

"Wrapper?"

"Here let me show you." he said as he picked up another bar.

"You see, candy is kept in these wrappers. You pull them off before you eat the candy." he said as he pulled off the wrapper and took a bite out of the bar. "See."

He nodded and picked up another bar and pulled it's wrapper off before stuffing the bar into his mouth.

"See. Much better." Keigo said. "Help yourself to whatever you want. Chad's back on his feet, so I'm gonna go deal with him."

Wonderweiss nodded as he began to explore the shelves and taste everything in sight.

* * *

Elsewhere

As the battle between Tatsuki and Shinji raged in the skies above him. Ichigo found himself staring at the battle in concern. He knew that the others were still fighting. That Rukia and Mizuiro were fighting nearby. But he couldn't turn his attention away from the battle overhead.

He was worried that Tatsuki was about die at Shinji's hands.

Ichigo watched in horror as Shinji's cero struck Tatsuki His heart skipped a beat when he saw Tatsuki fall to the ground like a meteor.

Getting back up his feet, Ichigo moved as fast as he could to where Tatsuki landed.

He was relieved when he reached the crater and found her injured but alive and slowly trying to get back on her feet.

There were numerous cuts and burns all over body. Her jacket looked more like a tattered rag, half covering the black tank-top she wore underneath it.

Shinji landed next to him, his attention on Tatsuki.

"So you fire your own cero into mine to minimize the damage." Shinji said. "Not bad."

Tatsuki managed to get to her feet, and looking extremely annoyed. "Your mask! That cero! What the hell are you?!" she shouted at Shinji.

"I'm the opposite of what you are. I am a vizard. A soul reaper who has crossed into the realm of hollows." he replied.

Tatsuki started to laugh, a dark, angry laugh. "You think that just because you have a mask and can do a cero that you have truly crossed over in the realm of hollows. You know nothing of hollows! You know nothing of a hollow's pain! It's fear! It's hunger! You, vizard, and your whole race sicken me!"

Tatsuki's eyes filled with a rage that he had never seen in her eyes. Even when someone tried to hurt Orihime, her eyes never held such rage. Such fury. Such hatred.

"Allow me, vizards, to enlighten you on what a hollow truly is! By ripping your fucking faces off!!"

Tatsuki raised her sword and pointed it at her own chest. "Impale Verdugo!"

Tatsuki then grinned and pushed the blade into her own chest. But the tip of the blade didn't come out her back, nor did she seem to feel any from the act. Instead, a white liquid started to pour out of the wound and spread across her body as she continued to push more of her sword into her chest.

* * *

Elsewhere

Wonderweiss sat in front of the candy store, digging into the pile of candy on his lap as he watched Keigo fight the guy with the mismatched arms.

Keigo had been right about the candy. It was delicious. It came in different shapes, sizes and flavor. Some sweet. Some sour. Some shaped like things. Some colorful. Some not. But they were all equally delicious.

He turned his attention to back to the fight as he devoured a handful of gummy worms. The human losing badly. He was just too slow to keep up with Keigo. But Keigo wasn't attacking him that much. Choosing instead to mock and taunt the human and occasionally fire a bala or two while the human wasted his own energy fruitlessly trying to attack Keigo.

Keigo suddenly appeared next to him and said, "Hey, you tried any of those chocolate whacking oranges?"

He shook his head.

"Pass me one. I'll show you how they work."

Wonderweiss search his pile and passed him one.

"Thanks." Keigo said before sonidoing away.

Keigo reappeared behind and above the human. And as soon as he appeared, Keigo hit the human in the back of the head with the chocolate orange.

"You need to hit it on something hard. Like Chad's thick head here. That breaks it into chocolate orange slices."

Keigo tossed the chocolate orange back to him. Wonderweiss tore open the wrapper and began stuffing chocolate orange slices into his mouth.

"Man, Mizuiro was right. You are way, way too slow, Chad." Keigo taunted. "If I broke both my legs, I'd still be faster than you."

The human didn't said anything. Instead, he fired an energy blast from his right hand. Keigo dodged it by sonidoing behind the human.

But the human spun around and punched Keigo in face.

Only to have his hand go through a fading Keigo while the real Keigo appeared on the human's left side.

"Wow!" Wonderweiss said in awe.

"Yeah. But don't tell Zommari tell that I can perform his Gemelos Sonido." Keigo said. "He won't like that. Even if I can only create two afterimages compared to his five."

Wonderweiss nodded. He didn't like Zommari. He wasn't fun.

Suddenly, two tears opened up in the sky. One above him and the other above Keigo.

"Awww...It's time to go. I wanted more candy." he said as a pair of Negacion fields dropped down on them.

"Farewell Chad." Keigo said as the two of them rose into the air. "I don't think I'll be back in Karakura for quite sometime, if ever again."

* * *

Elsewhere

Grimmjow was getting annoyed.

This red haired punk was wasting too much of his time. The punk wasn't as strong as Kurosaki, but he was strong enough to keep him from finding Kurosaki and kicking his ass.

And now that Urahara guy had shown up and was now kicking Yammy's ass. And Yammy wasn't the only one in trouble. Luppi had failed to finish off that pint size captain when he had the chance and was now being beaten by him.

They were pathetic. As much as hated to admit it. He rather be fighting along side Arisawa, Asano and Kojima. He hated them, especially Tatsuki, but at least they could get the job done. Not like these two dumbasses.

The soul reaper's bankai shot out towards him again. He dodged it and fired a cero at the soul reaper. The soul reaper blocked it with the coils of his bankai but lost several segments in the process.

"Getting tired, arrancar?" the punk taunted.

Who was he kidding? He was fine. The punk on the other hand, had several gashes and large cuts on his body and he was beginning to tire.

Grimmjow was about to insult the soul reaper when the four tears opened up in the sky.

"NO!" he shouted.

The mission had been completed. And now they were being recalled.

Before he had gotten to fight Kurosaki.

"Damn you soul reaper! You kept me from my prey!" he screamed as his body started to rise up to the portal to Los Noches.

"Quit your complaining, Grimmjow." Yammy said. "The mission's been accomplished. So what are you complaining about?"

"Shut up dumbass. It's none of your business." he shouted as he entered the portal.

Now he'd have to wait until they launched final attack against Karakura to finish off Kurosaki.

* * *

Ichigo and Shinji both raised their zanpaku-tos as Tatski pushed her sword further into her chest. About half of her sword was in her body and about half of her body was covered by the white liquid.

Ichigo had heard from the others, just how strong arrancar became after they used their resurreccion. And now, he was about experience his first resurreccion. From Tatsuki no less.

Fate must have a twisted sense of humor.

Suddenly, a hand shot out and stopped the blade from going into any further, causing the liquid spreading across Tatsuki's body to stop as well.

It was Ulquiorra.

"We're done here." he said to Tatsuki.

"Let me finish them off!"

Ulquiorra's response was to pull her sword out of her body. The liquid flowed back into the wound as he did.

"The mission has been accomplished. There is no reason to stay." he said.

"I don't think so Ulquiorra. Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo are staying here. I'm gonna find a way to fix them. And no one. Not you. Not that bastard Aizen, are gonna stop me from doing that!"

Tatsuki laughed at him while Ulquiorra stared at him with the same emotionless expression. "Negacion." he said.

Suddenly, a tear in the sky opened up and a pillar of light descended on the two while another Negacion field dropped down a few blocks behind him.

Ulquiorra and Tatski rose off the ground towards the opening in the sky.

Ulquiorra stared at him for a moment. "There are remnants of reiatsu here. And it seems, that you have attained some sort of new power." he said. "Though, is that all you can achieve with it?"

When he reached the opening, he added, "This is the end. There is no way for you to intervene now. The sun has already sunken into our grasp."

"Dammit!" Ichigo shouted as he punched the ground.

Again, he had them in his grasp and again, they slipped through his fingers.

* * *

Saturday 12:15 am.

Los Noches

Orihime was quiet as Ulquiorra escorted her to Aizen's throne room.

When they arrived, they found Grimmjow, Yammy, Luppi, Tatsuki, Mizuiro, Keigo and a blond arrancar she had never met before, waiting.

Luppi, Yammy and Tatsuki appeared to have been injured. Though Tatsuki seemed to have taken the worst of it.

Aizen walked into the room from a side passage and sat down on his throne.

"Welcome Miss Inoue, to our castle, Los Noches." Aizen greeted. "Sorry to ask this of you, but I want to demonstrate that ability of yours now."

Suddenly, Orihime felt a massive wave of spiritual pressure hit her. She barely managed to say, "Yes."

"It seems that there still some who are not in agreement with our new guest. Isn't that right Luppi?"

"Of course." Luppi answered as he bow at Aizen. "To say that our whole battle was for was for just the purpose of bringing that woman over here. I just can't accept that."

"My fault." Aizen replied, his voice full of mirth. "I didn't expect you to get that torn up after all."

Luppi didn't say anything.

"Now, Orihime. In order to test your abilities, restore Grimmjow's left arm."

Luppi started laughing. "Yeah right! That's like one of Keigo's bad jokes!"

"Hey!"

"Grimmjow's arm was incinerated Tosen! There's nothing left to heal! What is she, God?!"

Orihime ignored him and walked over to Grimmjow's left side.

"Soten Kishun. I reject." she said quietly, summoning Shuno and Ayame to restore Grimmjow's arm.

Luppi laughed even harder. "If you're trying to put on a good performance! Quit while you're ahead! If you can't do it, we'll just just kill you! Since that power of yours is just a scam, there's no reason to keep such a...person..."

He stopped when he saw Grimmjow's arm reforming.

When she was done, Grimmjow raised his left arm and stared at it. He started flexing his fingers and balling them into a fist.

"Impossible! His arm was destroyed!" Luppi shouted. "What the hell did she do?!"

Aizen's grin widened. "You still don't get it Luppi? Ulquiorra reported this as time reversal."

"That is correct." Ulquiorra replied.

"No way...There's no way a mere human could have such a powerful ability." a shocked Luppi said.

"But it is. However you look at it. This is pure event rejection."

"What?!"

"Her ability allows her to choose a target and subsequently deny that it ever happened." Aizen explained. "No matter what event happened, she can return the target to a previous state. She can easily supersede any event God has designated to occur on the ground level. This power violates the realm of God."

"Hey, girl. Heal this too." Grimmjow said as he pointed to his back.

Orihime complied and started healing the burn scar on his back, revealing a black number six.

"What are you trying to pull Grimmjow?!" Luppi shouted at his predecessor.

Grimmjow turned his head towards Luppi as a feral grin spread across his face.

Before anyone could react, Grimmjow impaled Luppi with his restored left arm.

"Grimmjow! You bastard!"

"Farwell, former number six." Grimmjow said before firing a cero, destroying Luppi from the waist up.

"Damn. I lost another bet to you." Keigo said.

"Oh?" Tatsuki asked. "What was it this time?"

"Who would win between Grimmjow and Luppi. And I picked Grimmjow before Keigo could, forcing him to bet on Luppi." Mizuiro replied.

"It's back! All of my strength has returned!" Grimmjow shouted in joy. "I'm number six again! HA HA HA HA!!!"

"Not quite Grimmjow." Aizen said.

"WHAT?!"

"You weren't punished for disobeying my orders a second time."

"When?! I've followed all of your orders!"

"Oh but you didn't." he said as another grin spread across his face. "You attacked Tatsuki when you were specifically told not to even acknowledge her. And for that, you have to fight one more person before you can reclaim the position of Sixth Espada."

"Who?"

Aizen's grin widened as he answered. "Tatsuki."

* * *

Who will be the new Sixth Espada? Tatsuki or Grimmjow? Gonna have to wait for the next chapter to find out.

A few things I just wanna clear up. First off, the act of Tatsuki's release, isn't a slow thing. The time between those two scenes is less then a second. So I don't want anyone to think that Tatsuki impaling herself was a slow act. And to anyone who thought I was actually gonna show Tatsuki release form. Gotcha! I said in earlier chapters that I wasn't gonna show their release forms until the Hueco Mundo arc. So your just gonna have to wait.

Secondly, I'm taking a temporary break from this story. During which I will work on and post the first few chapters of Zanpaku-to, my Naruto/Bleach crossover. Don't worry my fans, I'm not abandoning this story. I'm just switching gears for awhile.

Finally, I didn't put in the scenes were Ulquiorra spoke to Orihime and Orihime's farewell to Ichigo. They happened pretty much like they did in the manga/anime. Which is why I didn't write them.

Later. Please Review.


	14. Chapter 14

Yo everybody! I know I said I wasn't gonna post another chapter until posted a few chapter of my Naruto/Bleach fic. I was gonna post the first couple of pages for it yesterday, when I had a desire to change a major part of it. Including my own OC, the fourth genin of Team 7.

You see, my only regret with Hollowfication was that I couldn't include my two major OCs for Bleach. A human OC who developed his own abilities when Chad and Orihime and a soul reaper OC, who was the fourth seat of Squad 11. I wanted to add them, but I felt that would have had to do the Soul Society arc in order to do so. But at the time, I really wanted to write an arrancar!Tatsuki, arrancar!Mizuiro, arrancar!Keigo fic, so I didn't include them.

Ah well, enough of my rant. On with the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. That honor belongs to Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Oh but you didn't." Aizen said as another grin spread across his face. "You attacked Tatsuki when you were specifically told not to even acknowledge her. And for that, you have to fight one more person before you can reclaim the position of Sixth Espada."

"Who?"

Aizen's grin widened as he answered. "Tatsuki."

Orihime's heart skipped a beat. Aizen wanted Tatsuki to fight Grimmjow. Grimmjow, who had beaten Ichigo twice before while Tatsuki barely beat Ichigo once.

"You're kidding? What kinda punishment is that? This will be easier than killing Luppi." Grimmjow said with a smirk.

"We'll see about that." Tatsuki said as she stepped towards Grimmjow.

Grimmjow glanced at Tatsuki, then turned to her and said, "Girl, heal her."

Both Orihime and Tatsuki looked at him in surprise.

"I don't want there to be any doubt that I'm stronger than you Arisawa." Grimmjow replied. "Now heal her, girl!"

Orihime reluctantly began to heal Tatsuki. It wasn't that she didn't want to heal her friend. It was that the moment she finished healing her, Tatsuki would begin fighting an opponent that she couldn't beat. Grimmjow had beaten Ichigo twice while Tatsuki barely Ichigo once. And she was injured while Grimmjow appeared to be at a hundred percent.

Tatsuki didn't say anything as she healed her. Her gaze was entirely on Grimmjow. When she finished, Tatsuki continued walking towards Grimmjow. But as she walked past her, she whispered to her, "Look at me with those eyes again and I don't care what Aizen-sama says, I'll rip your eyes out."

For the first time, even after her transformation, Orihime was afraid of Tatsuki. There had been any trace of doubt, any trace of guilt, any trace of sorrow, or any trace of her friend in Tatsuki's voice.

Now Orihime no longer feared for Tatsuki's life. Instead, she feared that there wasn't anything left of the person she knew.

Tatsuki started tearing the bandages off her body as she walked towards Grimmjow.

Orihime had pissed her off. Orihime had the gull to look at her with pity and fear for her life. Orihime thought that she was weak, that she couldn't beat Grimmjow. It was beyond insulting. In fact, if Aizen hadn't ordered them not to harm Orihime, expect for in self-defense, she would have beaten her up right then and there.

So she'd have to settle on taking her anger out on Grimmjow.

"You don't stand a chance against me Arisawa." Grimmjow said.

"Funny. I was about to say the same thing about you cripple." she replied.

"Quit calling me that bitch!" he shouted back.

"Sorry, but you'll always be a cripple to me."

"Then DIE!!" he shouted as he used a sonido.

He reappeared in front of her, his right fist flying towards her. But she was ready for him. Her left shot up and grabbed his fist while her own right fist flew towards him. But he grabbed her fist just like she had done. Both found themselves locked in a test of strength with the other.

They remained there for over a minute, the ground crumbling beneath them as both trying to overpower the other. But neither seemed to be making any headway.

Tatsuki hated to admit it she couldn't overpower Grimmjow. But at the same time, he couldn't seem to overpower her.

_'Let's see if this works.'_

Tatsuki drove her left knee into Grimmjow's crotch. Grimmjow fell to his knees with a loud groan, holding his sore manhood.

"That had to hurt." Keigo said while Wonderweiss giggled.

Before Grimmjow could get up, she spun her right leg and kicked Grimmjow in head. But Grimmjow countered by grabbing her leg before she could hit him. Still holding her leg, Grimmjow stood up and threw Tatsuki. She crashed into the middle of a wall.

Before she could get herself out of crater in the wall, Grimmjow struck again. Hitting her with a barrage of punches, pushing her further and further into the wall. Grimmjow stopped the barrage as he pulled his right fist back. He wanted to finish this in one blow.

But before he could strike, Tatsuki tackled him, sending both of the to the ground. When they hit the floor, they both sonidoed away from the other.

They both raised their right fists, focusing reiatsu into their arms. They stood there for a moment, just staring at each other. Then they both started running towards each other, roaring as they did.

Grimmjow struck first, trying to hit Tatsuki's head. But she ducked down, dodging the blow. Than she drove her own fist upwards and into Grimmjow's chin, uppercutting the larger arrancar.

Grimmjow flew backwards and hit the ground as Tatsuki drew her sword with one hand and sonidoed on top of him. She brought it down on Grimmjow's head, but he managed to grab it in midair while drawing his own sword and impaling her in abdomen, just a few inches above her hollow hole.

"Not bad, Arisawa." he said with a smirk. "But not good enough."

Tatsuki coughed out some blood. "Again, I was gonna say the exact same thing." she said as her free left hand hovered over his abdomen, charging a cero.

Grimmjow's eyes widened in shock. He was beaten, he knew it. If he let go of her sword to counter her cero, her sword would go through his head. And there wasn't enough time for him to pull his sword out and attack her before she fired the cero.

"Enough." Aizen said. "There is a clear winner."

Tatsuki disspelled her charging cero and pulled her sword out of Grimmjow's grasp and his sword out of her abdomen. While Grimmjow was too stunned to stop her.

"NO!! She hasn't beaten me!! She just got lucky!!" Grimmjow shouted when he regained his composure.

"You are beaten Grimmjow. There was no way for you to escape." Ulquiorra said.

"NO!! I'm stronger than her!!"

"And yet there you were Grimmjow. At the mercy of someone you considered weaker than yourself." Aizen said.

He then snapped his fingers. Tatsuki felt a tingling sensation on her right bicep. Tatsuki rolled up the shelve of her new coat, to reveal that the number 84 that had been there had changed into a six.

"Congratulations Tatsuki Arisawa, Sixth Espada." Aizen said.

"I'm an Espada." she said quietly to herself in disbelief.

"I'm an Espada." she said again, this time louder as a grin across her lips.

"I'M A FREAKING ESPADA!!" she shout at the top of her lungs in triumph.

* * *

Saturday 10:34 am.

Karakura Town

Ichigo was pretty pissed off as he ran through the streets of Karakura. The Soul Society had decided to abandon Orihime, declaring her a traitor in league with Aizen. Then they pulled Hitsugaya's team and ordered him to stay in Kurakara until further notice.

No way in hell was he gonna do that. Four of his friends were in Aizen's clutches. And he wasn't gonna wait around. He was through waiting.

He quickly reached his destination. Urahara's shop.

Urahara was there, standing outside, waiting for him.

"Welcome Ichigo. I thought you'd come by." he said.

Ichigo nodded. "The way to Hueco Mundo. Is it done?"

"Truth be told Ichigo, I had it done a few days before we found out what happen to your friends."

"What?! Why did you lie to us?!"

Urahara sighed. "Because I didn't want you to go running off to Hueco Mundo. Or rather Orihime running off to Hueco Mundo." he answered. "Come. I have everything prepared inside."

The two stepped into the shop and into Urahara's underground training area.

"I always feared that Aizen would someday set his sights on Orihime's ability." he explained. "That's why I tried to remove her from the battlefield this time and why I lied to you."

Urahara paused for a moment. "Unfortunately, when we found out about Aizen did to your friends, I knew that Orihime wouldn't willingly sit on the sidelines. If I allowed you to go to Hueco Mundo, she would have refused to stay behind."

"Why does Aizen want Orihime?" he asked.

"Her ability to heal goes far beyond healing. She can reject that an event even happened. Repairing damage that even the most powerful healing spells couldn't repair. Restoring limbs and body parts that had been completely destroyed. She can probably even reverse death."

"What?! Then why didn't you tell us that when we had Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo. She could have made them human again!"

Urahara shook his head. "No she couldn't have."

"But you just said that-"

"Physically, she can do it but she lacks the spiritual power to turn them back into humans. If she tried it on just one of them, the best case scenario is that she manages to turn them back into adjuchas and restores a bunch of the hollows they devoured while she dies from a massive loss of reiatsu." he explained.

"Then there's no hope to change them back." Ichigo said dejectedly.

"Actually, while there is no way to turn them back to humans, there may be a way to restore their minds." he said. "I have a theory. If Orihime focused her ability on their hollow holes. It may be possible for Orihime to at least partially to reject the loss of their hearts, restoring more of the human part of their souls. I think it may cause the hollow part and the human part of their souls to split apart and allow that human side a chance to take control. But again, this is just a theory. It could do that, then again, it could do nothing or it could do something completely unpredicted. You'll just have to see."

"Thanks. But should you be helping me? By helping me, you'll be violating the orders of the Soul Society."

Urahara smirked. "I'm not worried about that. Such violations are the reason I'm residing here now."

"Okay then. Open up the way so I can get going."

"Going into enemy territory by yourself Kurosaki?" a voice called from behind him. "Not even you are that stupid."

Ichigo knew that arrogant voice. He turned around. And there sitting on a cliff ledge was Uryu.

"Uryu?!" Ichigo said in surprise. "Why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he said as he leap down. "To go to Hueco Mundo."

"Then you know?"

Before Uryu could answer, another voice, coming from Ichigo's right said, "Urahara told us about what happened to Orihime."

It was Chad.

"We're going too Ichigo. Orihime, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro are as much my friends as they are yours."

"I appreciate your feelings, Chad, Uryu, but with your powers-"

"Ichigo." Chad said before slamming his transformed fist into him.

Ichigo barely managed to block it with Zangetsu.

"Are you saying that even this isn't enough?" Chad said. "Trust us Ichigo. You don't have to carry such a heavy burden by yourself. That's what nakama are for."

Ichigo was stunned. There was nothing he could say. They were going regardless of what he said.

Urahara took this moment to speak, "Alright then. Everyone ready? It seems like the last of our preparations are finally complete."

The three of them nodded.

"The stone bridging both worlds lies in my right hand, the sword securing reality in my right." Urahara chanted. "Black-haired shepard, chair of hanged men, with the arrival of the stratus, we strike the Ibis."

A large portal opened up above their heads.

"This is the portal the arrancar pass through, known as Garganta." Urahara explained. "Within, no road exists, and spirits spiral around with great turbulence. Keep your footing by traversing the spirits, and continue onwards. Head towards the darkness, and you will eventually reach Hueco Mundo."

"Got it." Ichigo said before he, Chad and Uryu leap up into the portal.

_'Orihime, Tasuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, we're coming to save you.' _

Elsewhere

Los Noches

Tatsuki walked through the halls of the domain of the Sixth Espada. Her domain.

She had achieved her dream. She was now an Espada. She now officially stood among the strongest of arrancar. But that wasn't the end if her ambition. She wanted the number one spot.

Of course, it'd take her decades to reach the First's level. But the way things were turning out, that wouldn't be a problem. In about two months, Karakura would be wiped out and Aizen would ascend to godhood. Then Hueco Mundo, the world of the living, and even the Soul Society would be under their rule.

Tatsuki snapped out of her thoughts of the future and focused on her new domain.

Unfortunately, at the moment it was filled with all of Luppi's crap. Who knew her predecessor had so much garbage. Even with all of Luppi's Fraccion cleaning out all of the dead Espada's garbage, it was gonna take a couple of days before all the garbage was gone.

Suddenly, a massive spike of reiatsu surged through the air. It could only mean one thing. Someone breached the outer perimeter of Los Noches.

A grin spread across Tatsuki's face. "About time." she said to herself. "I was beginning to think that they weren't coming."

* * *

Elsewhere

"Wow. I wonder if they were this loud breaking into the Soul Society." Keigo said.

"Probably. Discretion is something Ichigo isn't familiar with." Mizuiro said. "Though you'd think that after that whole fiasco with rescuing Rukia, that he would have learned be a little discrete."

Keigo chuckled while Mizuiro activated his pesquisa. "It looks like there's only three of them and they're at the Iceringer's and Demora's outpost."

"Only three?! What do they plan to do? Walk up to the front gate and ask nicely if Aizen-sama would release Orihime?"

Mizuiro shrugged. "Not just Orihime. Ichigo will asked us as well." Mizuiro laughed and added, "He still clings to the belief that he can...what did he call it? Oh right, 'fix' us."

"Fix us?!" Keigo said as he laughed. "There's nothing to fix!"

"True." Mizuiro replied. "How about we go see how they fair against those two idiots?"

"Sure."

* * *

Elsewhere

"Well now, this is interesting." Arturo Plateado said as he turned his head from the ancient tome he was reading.

Arturo was currently sitting in his private study, one of the many hidden chamber that not even Aizen knew of.

Aizen had believed that the previous Los Noches had been completely demolished and his Los Noches had been build were the previous one stood. In reality, all but the lowest levels and the extremely ancient foundation had been spared and built on top of. At his orders, of course.

That was Aizen's biggest weakness, his arrogant belief that the majority of the arrancar would loyally follow him, that there was no arrancar his equal that would rebel against him, and that he was just an Espada when Aizen killed the Lord of Los Noches and took over Los Noches.

In reality, he, Arturo Plateado, was the real Lord of Los Noches. The one Aizen killed was merely one of his Fraccion.

Nor was Aizen aware that three of the current Espada in reality were loyal to him instead of the ex-captain, and at least two others could be swayed to his side. Also, that almost all of the Privaron Espada were on his side or would side with him over Aizen.

Although Arturo did not know the full extend of Aizen's plans, Aizen wasn't even aware of this hidden rebellion waiting to happen.

But soon...Aizen would. And Los Noches would be his again.

* * *

Elsewhere

Aizen was sitting on a couch in his personal quarters when the surge of reiatsu. It meant only one thing. Kurosaki and the other Ryoka had come. Just as he had planned.

"So they've come."

* * *

Elsewhere

Ichigo, Chad and Uryu had just arrived in Hueco Mundo and Ichigo had to admit, it was quiet different then he expected. He had been expecting some dark, nightmarish place. Instead, they were standing at the end of a long white corridor.

"It looks like we're in a pretty decent building or something." Ichigo commented. I kinda imagined Hueco Mundo to look much different then this. This place reminds me more of the Soul Society then-"

"Lower your voice Kurosaki." Uryu interrupted. "Our entrance has no doubt already alerted others of our presence."

"Is this really Hueco Mundo though?" Ichigo said, not really paying attention to the Quincy.

"Are you listening to me Kurosaki?! First off, we need to find a place to hide-"

Uryu stopped the instant they felt it. Something was behind them.

The three of them spun around and saw someone lurking in the shadows behind them. A rather large someone judging from the large hand resting on the ceiling.

"What the?" it said. "Who are you?"

* * *

That's all for now.

So anyone surprised by Aizen's revelation in the latest chapter of the manga? I wasn't. I had noticed that during Ulquiorra's conversation with Nnoitra, that Ulquiorra basically said, 'It doesn't matter whether or not Orihime follows Aizen's orders. For Aizen will win regardless.'. Now I didn't know that Aizen was using it as a distraction to lure and trap four of the captains, Ichigo, and the others. That surprised me and reminded me why Aizen is such a badass villain. He takes deception and manipulation to a whole other level. You never see him coming until it's too late.

And the other reason I posted this chapter now, was the stats for Hollowfication rose a fair amount since I've posted the last two chapters.

Hits: 5906

Reviews: 46

Favs: 23

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Once again, I wanna say thanks. You guys are what drive me to continue writing.


	15. Chapter 15

Yo everybody! The next chapter of Hollowification is finally up!

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.

**Chapter Fifteen**

Underground Tunnel 22

Hueco Mundo

"Damn human..." Iceringer groaned as he fell to the ground.

He raised one of his fingers, in an attempt to fire off another of his attacks, only to have the finger blown off.

"You mean quincy arrancar." Uryu replied. "The only reason I didn't obliterate you is because I want you to relay something to Aizen."

Iceringer stared at him but didn't say anything.

"The truth is, what you should all fear is not a soul reaper at all. But a quincy."

Iceringer stared at Uryu in disbelief but before he could respond, laughter filled the chamber.

"Why would Aizen-sama fear the last of a clan of humans, that were too arrogant for their own good?" a voice said from behind Ichigo.

"Indeed. No one in Los Noches would ever fear a human." a second voice added.

Ichigo and the others turned to face the new comers, but he already knew who they were. Keigo and Mizuiro.

They were standing in front of a black doorway that hadn't been there when they first arrived.

"We were wondering when you three were going come." Mizuiro said, amusement on his face. "Though I will admit that I'm surprised that you made such a loud entrance. I think that just about everything in Hueco Mundo felt you guys arrive. Not a smart move if you're trying to rescue someone from enemy territory."

"Kill the intruders!" Iceringer shouted.

Ichigo, Uryu and Chad instantly moved into fighting stances. Ready for anything.

"Just the two of you?" Ichigo said. "Where's Tatsuki?"

"Oh, she's busy at the moment." Keigo replied in a casual tone. "She got herself a nice little promotion. So she's gonna be tied up for awhile. Don't worry, you'll be seeing her soon enough, if of course you survive."

"Why are you two just talking to them!" Iceringer shouted again. "Kill them!"

"You know Iceringer, a gatekeeper is suppose to keep the intruders out. And failing that, to die fighting the intruders." Keigo said. "Do you know where you failed?"

"What?! What the hell are you talking about?!" Iceringer yelled as he slowly stood up.

"We came here to correct your mistake. The mistake of not fighting to death." Mizuiro answered.

The second he finished saying that, Keigo sonidoed. Ichigo just managed to keep up with him as moved behind Iceringer and sliced the top half of his head off.

Iceringer obviously hadn't been able to keep up with Keigo, nor was he even aware that he had been killed as his last words were, "Weak humanoids like you can't kil-"

Keigo cleaned off the blade of his kama with a part of Iceringer's coat as large cracks formed in the walls and ceiling. Fortunately, the room held together.

"Such pathetic creatures. Only fit to be the guard dogs of Los Noches." Mizuiro commented. "Well, now that that's out of the way, there's no reason for us to stay here."

"I don't think so Mizuiro!" Ichigo shouted. "Both of you are coming with us! Even if we have to break your arms and legs to do it!"

Keigo and Mizuiro both laughed at him. "You've said that how many times Ichigo?" Mizuiro said. "And our answer has always been the same. No. And do the three of you really think that you can beat us?"

"Well, this will be the last time!" he shouted as he raised Zangetsu. "BANKAI! Tensa Zangetsu!"

Keigo chuckled as he placed his kama back in his belt. "Where's the fun in that? You guys aren't even in Los Noches yet. Since you're gonna die, you all might as well die in Los Noches with the belief that you could have succeeded."

"I don't think so!" Ichigo yelled as he swung his sword at Keigo.

Only to pass right through his body like was thin air.

"Whew." he heard Keigo's voice, now from behind him as the Keigo in front of him faded away. "Almost got me. But you weren't quite fast enough Ichigo."

Ichigo turned around, only to get punched in the face by Keigo. He wasn't physically as strong as Tatsuki or Chad but it was still a pretty powerful punch.

"You keep on underestimating us. You keep thinking that you can beat us without breaking a sweat." Mizuiro said in a cold tone. "And yet none of you have proven yourselves strong enough to warrant us releasing our zapaku-tos. Perhaps you should-"

Mizuiro never got a chance to finish his sentence as Uryu shouted, "How's this for strength?!" before firing off and arrow at him.

At last second, Mizuiro drew his sword and deflected the arrow.

"That's quite rude Uryu. Though, if that's the best you have, then you won't last long." he said as he sheathed his sword. "C'mon Keigo, let's go."

"Yeah, yeah." Keigo said as he turned around and started walking towards Mizuiro and the doorway.

"Before we leave, allow me Uryu, to enlighten you as to why Aizen-sama will never fear you." Mizuiro said as he stepped into the doorway. "You see, for Aizen-sama, there is nothing in existence that he fears. That is one of the reasons that we all serve him. We were all born from fear. To us, the path of the fearless one shines as brightly as the moonlight."

Tatsuki's words from before entered his mind. _"You know nothing of hollows! You know nothing of a hollow's pain! It's fear! It's hunger!"_

Ichigo found himself wondering just what happened to the three of them mentally when Aizen turned them into hollows.

"One more thing Uryu. Well, actually this goes for all of you." Mizuiro added. "Don't spare your opponents here. That weakness will only get you killed."

"Oh, we forgot to tell you about this room." Keigo said as he followed Mizuiro into the doorway.

The instant he crossed the threshold, the room began to violently shake, like an earthquake, as the cracks on the walls and ceiling widened. Ignoring this, Ichigo towards Keigo and Mizuiro as the door slowly slid down.

"This room was designed that if the guards were beaten, it will collapse. However, if one or more other arrancar enter the room, it will not collapse unless they too are beaten or leave the room." Keigo said as the door drew nearer and nearer to the floor. "Bye bye Ichigo, Chad, Four-Eyes."

Ichigo reached the door just as it hit the floor, sealing the passageway. Ichigo punched the door in anger but it did nothing to the door.

"Come on Ichigo!" Uryu shouted. "We have to get out of here!"

Ichigo nodded and turned towards Chad and Uryu as the three of them ran as fast as they could to the stairs while dodging falling chucks of the ceiling. They barely reached the top of the stairs and the outside, before the entire room collapsed.

They just stood there for a moment, trying to catch their breath.

"Well, we manged to get of there somehow." Ichigo said as he dusted himself off.

He glanced around at his surroundings. A vast desert of white sand stretched out as far as he could see. A side from the occasional white, dead tree, there was nothing but white sand dunes. He looked up at the sky. It looked like a nighttime sky, but there was something unsettling about it. The sky was an unnatural pitch black, with no stars in the sky. Only the moon hung ominously in the sky, like giant eye staring down on them.

"So this is Hueco Mundo." he said he continued to stare at the barren landscape. "It seems kinda lonely here, don't you think? There's nothing here but sand. Why would anyone want to live here?"

"Well, there are trees here." Chad said as scanned the landscape.

"I don't think they're trees." Uryu said as he reached up and broke off a branch of a near by tree. "It looks like it's made of something similar to quartz."

"Whoa." Chad said as he stared at something behind them.

Ichigo and Uryu turned and saw what Chad saw. A massive white castle. But there was something off. Ichigo found his whole depth perception out of whack. The castle seemed fairly close, yet off in the distance at the same time.

"This must be that 'Los Noches' place they mentioned earlier." Uryu said.

"It's huge..." Ichigo commented.

"Yeah. But there's something strange about. It seems close and far at the same time. It's really screwing up my depth perception." Chad said.

"It doesn't matter how far or how close it is." Ichigo said. "Orihime, Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo are all somewhere in there. Come on, let's go."

The three of them started running towards the castle. Where their friends and enemies were.

* * *

Elsewhere

Outside Espada Council Chamber

Los Noches

Tatsuki and her fellow Espada were walking towards the Esapda Council Chamber. Aizen had called for a meeting. No doubt it was about the intruders. Of course, she already knew who they were.

"Anyone know what the meeting's gonna be about." Nnoitra asked as they walked towards the chamber.

"I believe we have some intruders." Zommari said to his fellow Espada.

"Intruders?!" Barragan grumbled as the doors to the chamber swung open.

"Underground Tunnel Twenty-Two just recently collapsed." Zommari said as he reached his chair

"Twenty-Two? That's quite far from here, isn't it?" Barragan said as he took his seat.

"I know. It would have been more interesting had they just broken into the throne room all at once." Szayel replied.

Nnoitra laugh at the comment. "That would have been great!"

"Hell yeah! That would have been fun!" Tatsuki added as she took her own seat.

"You're both so noisy." Stark yawned as he reached his seat. "Look, I'm still sleepy, so don't be so loud all the time, got it?"

"How can a guy who spends most of his time sleeping, be so tried all the time?" she asked.

Stark simply shrugged and sat down on his chair.

Once the Espada were settled, Aizen, Gin, and Tosen walked into the chamber.

"Good morning Espada." Aizen said as he approached his seat. "We've been attacked by the enemy. First though, I suppose we should warm up some tea."

No one present was surprised by this as a pair of servants appeared and began to serve tea to Aizen and the Espada.

Once the servants were finished, Aizen continued, "Everyone should have received their tea, yes?"

He took a sip and said, "Now then. Kaname. The reflection."

"Yes Aizen-sama." the blind former captain answered as he reached for a lever.

The white circle in the center of the table opened up, revealing the image of Ichigo, Chad and Uryu running towards Los Noches.

"The names of the three intruders are as follows: Uryu Ishida, Yasutora Sado, and Ichigo Kurosaki."

"And they are enemies?" Aaroniero asked.

"What the hell? You said we had an enemy attack." Barragan said in disbelief. "I was expecting something else. These bastards are just kids."

"They don't look too interesting." Szayel commented. "Not one bit."

"It wouldn't be wise to underestimate them." Tatsuki said as she took a sip of her tea.

"Oh? What's this? It sounds like Arisawa's afraid of them." Nnoitra said with his ever present grin. "But then again you were beaten both times you went to the human world."

Tatsuki simply replied, "You misunderstood me Nnoitra. I was warning Szayel and other Espada beneath me as I have already beaten the strongest one out of the three, Kurosaki, twice without releasing my zanpaku-to. So I have nothing to fear from them."

"Yeah right." he shot back, the sarcasm so loud and clear in his voice, that even Yammy picked it up.

"You should listen to her Nnoitra." Aizen said. "They are the ones called 'Ryoka'. The four of them invaded the Soul Society and challenged the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Though we do have three experts on them with us."

"Who?" Szayel asked.

"Their former friends, Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo."

All of the other Espada, save Ulquiorra, who already knew this, and Halibel, who had figured it out when they retrieved them, hadn't known that little fact and as such, each expressed various signs of surprise.

"Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me!" Nnoitra shouted.

"If that is so, then how can you deem them trustworthy Aizen-sama? Much less, allow one of them to become an Espada?" Aaroniero asked.

"I have to agree." Szayel said.

"Any and all bonds of friendship that I, and Keigo and Mizuiro for that matter, had with them, have been cut." she said in her defense. "I am no longer one of them. In fact, I've chosen a wall in my domain where I wanna mount Kurosaki's dead carcass."

"Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro have proven their loyal to me. There will be no further questioning of their loyalty." Aizen said to rest of the Espada.

"Wait. Didn't you say there was four?" Zommari said as he stared at the screen. "Who's the fourth?"

"Orihime Inoue." Ulquiorra answered.

Nnoitra chuckled. "So, you're saying they have come to rescue their friend, pet-sama? Isn't that sweet. Even if they do look weak."

"Didn't you hear? Aizen-sama's words confirms the fact that they are not to be taken lightly." Halibel said.

"I didn't mean it like that, for fuck's sake." Nnoitra grumbled. "What's your problem anyway? You scared or something?"

"I say we all go out and crush'em now before they become annoying." Tatsuki said. "Just say the word and we'll crush into dust, Aizen-sama."

"I hate to say this, but I have to agree with Arisawa." Nnoitra said. "Let's crush those bugs and be done with it."

"That won't be necessary." Aizen said.

"What?!" both she and Nnoitra shouted.

Aizen stood up and spoke, "Espada, as you can all see, we have three enemies. While there is no reason to underestimate them, there's also no reason to make an uproar. Please return to your domains and act as if everything is normal. Without excessive pride and without fail, just stay put and wait for our enemy. Do not be frightened. No matter what befalls us, as long as you walk by my side, an enemy that may stand up to us shall never exist."

* * *

Near Los Noches

A Few Hours Later

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!" Runaganga roared as a giant vortex formed around them.

Ichigo found himself at loss of what to do. He had cut this guy's head in two, only to have him reform. Unless they could find this guys weakness, they were gonna be buried alive.

"Nell!" he shouted to the little arrancar. "This guy's got some kind of weakness, right?!"

"But I can't tell that to the bad guyth!" she shouted back.

"What?! Do wanna die or something?!" he yelled as he picked her up and pinched her cheek.

"Water! Water!"

Water. His weakness was water. Where were they gonna find water in a freaking desert? They were royally screwed.

"Next dance! Hakuren!"

In an instant, Runaganga was encased with ice and the sand vortex beneath them faded away.

Ichigo looked around for the source of the ice when he spotted them. Standing atop a sand dune a short distance away, was Rukia and Renji.

Ichigo jumped off Bawabawa and ran towards them.

Ichigo said, "Rukia, Renji, what are-"

He was interrupted when Renji punched him in the face, followed be Rukia punching him.

"You ingrate!" Rukia shouted at him. "Why did you recklessly enter Hueci Mundo like this?! Why didn't you at least wait for us to return?!"

"But how was I supposed to know if you were even gonna come back."

"Of course we would have! No matter what we had to do!" Rukia shouted in his face. "Renji and I intended to help from the very beginning! Why didn't you just wait?! Why didn't you believe in us?! Aren't we your Nakama, Ichigo?"

Ichigo simply said, "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Good, cause I don't wanna have to say that ever again. Come on. Let's go save them."

* * *

Elsewhere

Domain of the Fourth Espada

Orihime stared out the window of her cell. She was deep in thought. Aizen's words about her ability had sparked two separate ideas in her head. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of a way for either plan to work. The first being to erase the Hogyoku from existence. However, Aizen had told her that he wouldn't harm her if see did something like that. Rather, he would torture Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo and force her watch every second of it, then force her to heal them, just so he could do it again.

The other idea was to use her ability to turn Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo back into humans. However, if she managed to do that, Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo would be defenseless and would have no means to return to the world of the living.

"Surprisingly, it looks good on you." a voice said, interrupting her thoughts.

She turned around. It was Ulquiorra.

"Wh...when did you get there?" she nervously asked.

"Just now. Cease your idle banter." Ulquiorra said as he walked towards her. "There is news. Your Nakama have invaded Hueco Mundo."

Orihime wasn't surprised. She knew that Ichigo and the others eventually come to rescue her and the others. But she still wished that they hadn't come. This was far worse than when they rescued Rukia. There, most of the people they fought were more interested in capturing them alive rather then killing them. Here however, things were different. Here, the arrancar fought to death and weren't taking any prisoners. Worse, if they ran into Tatsuki, Keigo or Mizuiro, than no matter who won the fight, they lost.

* * *

Elsewhere

Domain of the Sixth Espada

Tatsuki sat on a chair on a balcony, overlooking the interior of the dome of Los Noches.

Tatsuki was annoyed. Aizen had ordered all of the Espada to sit back and wait for Ichigo and the others to come to them. Which meant it was possible for them all die long before they ever reached her domain. Truth be told, she didn't care about the others, she just wanted to fight Ichigo.

Before, she wanted to fight Ichigo as a measure for her own abilities, to prove to Aizen, the other Espada, everyone, that she was strong. But after learning what Ichigo was, that changed. To her, Ichigo was now an abomination to everything that she was. Now she wanted nothing more than to destroy Ichigo and like she told the rest of the Espada, mount his carcass in her domain as a trophy.

"So what did Aizen-sama say?" Mizuiro said as he and Keigo approached her.

"He ordered the Espada to sit back and wait for them to come us." Tatsuki grumbled.

"Ah...That's why you're in a bad mood." Keigo said as he leaned on the balcony railing.

"Of course. Chances are, they'll end up dying before I get a chance at them."

"They're idiots for invading Los Noches." Keigo said. "All they'll be able to achieve, is to kill some arrancar and maybe a few of the weaker Espada. Actually, that's a good thing for us. Mizuiro and I could get promotions to replace the Espada that die."

"That's not a bad idea. I personally won't mind seeing some of the Espada fall." Tatsuki said.

"What did Aizen-sama say about the rest of us?" Mizuiro asked.

"Hmm? Nothing. He simply ordered the Espada to sit back and wait."

"So he didn't order us to wait around for them." Mizuiro said. "Good. That means the two of us can have some fun. C'mon Keigo, let's go and see how they're doing."

"Just leave Ichigo for me." Tatsuki said.

"Don't worry Tatsuki, we'll point him in your direction." Keigo said as the two of them walked out.

* * *

Elsewhere

Ichigo and the others found themselves in chamber with five passage ways with no idea which path to take.

"We've got no choice but to start on one end and make our way through." Uryu said.

"Not quite." Rukia said. "The five of us will each pick a path and follow it."

"But that's..." Uryu said.

"Are you crazy?!" Ichigo shouted. "We're going up against the Espada here! Not to mention Aizen and the other traitors! The smartest choice is obviously to stick together here! You really think they'll come for us one-on-one?! If we all just go off alone-"

"Enough already." Renji interrupted. "Worrying about a warrior's life on the battlefield is only an insult."

"Moving together huh?" Rukia said. "No doubt this is because you're worried about me, Ichigo. Just as I said before, 'Don't waste your time on me.' I didn't come here just to be protected by you."

Ichigo sighed. "All right then, the five of us will split. If you happen to find Orihime or capture Tatsuki, Keigo, or Mizuiro, don't wait for the rest of us. Get out of here as quickly as you can."

Renji, Rukia and Chad nodded while Uryu merely adjusted his glasses.

"Before we head out, let's do something for good luck." Renji said.

"For good luck?"

"Yeah, it's an old chant that members of the 13 Court Guards Squad use to say before a major battle. No one uses it anymore, but I figured it'd be a good idea. Alright, everyone put your right hands together."

Everyone formed a small circle and put their right hands together in the center.

"We are about to head to the battlefield! Believe, our blades will not shatter! Believe, our souls will not be cut! Even if our steps separate, our iron will remains solid! Promise! Even if the ground may split, we will all come back alive to this place!"

They broke the circle and each headed down one of the five corridors. Not a word was spoken between them. There was no need for words. They knew what they had to do. They would rescue their friends and they would all return home alive.

* * *

This chapter took longer than I expected for a couple of reasons, the biggest being that I suffered a writer's block early in this chapter. But it's gone now and I'm back in the flow.

I plan to skip the initial battles against the Privaron Espada and Rukia's battle with Aaroniero. Though I may have the end of Rukia's battle. So in a few more chapters, I'll be revealing Tatsuki's, Kiego's and Mizuiro's released forms.

Review!


	16. Chapter 16

* * *

Yo everybody! I have to say this is the fastest chapter I've ever written. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Gundam Seed. It's not becoming a crossover, I'm just using three characters from it.

**Chapter Sixteen**

Security Room

Los Noches

Gin Ichimaru sat at one of the consoles, playing the hallways. He had been keeping an eye on how the intruders progress. The intruders had, unsurprisingly, done quite well. Kurosaki and the quincy had both just beaten two of the Privaron Espada. Rukia was currently fighting Aaroniero while the other human was battling a third Privaron Espada.

"Hmm...It looks like Renji hasn't had any fun yet. Let's see how you fair against Szayel." Gin said as he moved the necessary hallways.

Gin noted that Mizuiro was closing in on the quincy while Keigo seemed to be heading toward the area the other human was in. So he decided not to move the hallways in that area. Ichigo on the other hand, was heading towards Ulquiorra's Domain, where Orihime was.

"That won't do." Gin said to himself as he started altering where Ichigo was heading. "Why don't we see if Tatsuki can come through on what she said."

* * *

Elsewhere

Domain of the Sixth Espada

Tatsuki could feel Ichigo's spiritual pressure grow closer and closer. Which didn't make sense. Ichigo had been heading towards Ulquiorra's Domain, where Orihime was, a moment ago. But now he was heading towards her Domain. Someone was playing with the hallways. Likely Gin having some fun or perhaps Grimmjow hoping to have a chance to fight the two of them so he could regain his number. Either way it didn't matter to her.

"Someone's coming." Shani Andras, one of her Fraccion, said.

"Nice. Some action." Orga Sabnak, another of her Fraccion said, looking up from his book. "I wonder how strong they are."

"Doesn't matter how strong they are. We'll annihilate them." Clotho Buer, her final Fraccion said as he played his WonderSwan handheld video game.

Shani was sprawled out on a couch, his headphones on and lost in his own world. His shoulder length, pale green hair covered the left half of his face. Covering both his mask fragment and his mismatched golden eye. His mask fragment consisted of a small piece surrounding is left eye with a small line running from his eye to halfway down his cheek. His other eye was purple. He wore the standard white sandals and the black sash and socks. Instead of a hakama, he wore baggy white pants with ripped knees. His coat was similar to her's, save it had normal shelves, a collar, and it didn't expose any part of his chest. Also the ends of the shelves and the coat itself, had a torn and ragged edges. His zanpaku-to, a large scythe, rested on the side of the couch.

Orga sitting in a chair, reading a paperback book. He had slicked back, olive green hair and blueish-green eyes. His mask was a line of short spikes, angled back, running from the center of the top of his forehead and down the back of his head. Like Shani, he wore the standard sandals, sash, and socks as well as the standard hakama. He wore a white long sleeve shirt and a sleeveless arrancar coat which he wore like a vest. His zanpaku-to was a pair of blue, angular shields with razor sharp edges, which allowed Orga to use them both as a shield and weapon. Normally, they were strapped to his back, but at the moment, they were resting on the side of the chair.

The ever argumentative Clotho, was sitting a chair as he played his game. He had blue eyes and short, bright red hair. His mask fragments consisted of a boney ridge on each cheek and under his chin. He too, wore the standard white sandals and hakama, the black socks and sash. He wore a standard arrancar coat with an open collar. His zanpaku-to was a heavy, spiked ball with a black handle which was clipped to a small metal loop on his sash.

Tatsuki had hand pick these three arrancar to be her Fraccion. Shani, Clotho and Orga had all been early experiments of Aizen's when he started using the Hogyoku. As a result of those experiments, all three were at least a little crazy, if not completely psychotic. It wasn't uncommon for the three of them to wildly attack anyone or anything in the middle of a battle. Even each other. Actually, they frequently attacked each other in the middle of a battle. As a result, most of the other arrancar considered them crazy and didn't want anything to do with them.

In fact, it was their mental 'instability' that caused Aizen to keep them out of the ranks of the Numeros. Had he, then they would have been numbers eleven, twelve and thirteen. Aizen had also kept them locked up most of the time. Letting them out only when he needed them which wasn't very often.

Tatsuki, however, didn't care. They were strong and that was good enough for her. And she happened to be one of the few people in Los Noches, outside of Aizen, that had some semblance of control over them. Particularly after she offered to free them from their cells permanently.

Tatsuki stood up from her chair. "This one is mine."

"Aw...C'mon boss." Clotho complained. "Let us kill them."

"No. The one that is approaching is Kurosaki. He's mine and mine alone. Though, if he bores me, you three can finish him."

Shani and Orga nodded. Clotho growled. "Fine."

"Good. Now I'm going to go and greet our guest. You guys wanna come?"

* * *

Elsewhere

Mizuiro had discovered Uryu's handiwork. That wretched quincy had the gull strip Cirucci of her soul chain and soul sleep and then leave her alive. Robbing her, not just of her powers, but her purpose and her existence.

He knelt next to Cirucci. He had rather liked her. Not as much as say Halibel and her Fraccion. But she was one of people in Hueco Mundo, he had grown to like. And now that quincy had stripped of everything but her life and called it a mercy. It sicken him.

Cirucci slowly opened her eyes. "Mizuiro..." Cirucci weakly said. "That human...he..."

"I know. I promise, I will give you the mercy that the quincy refused to give you and I will make him pay."

Mizuiro stood up and drew his sword and raised it. Cirucci nodded her head. "Thank you Mizuiro." she said before closing her eyes.

Mizuiro brought his sword down.

A minute later, he was off, chasing after Uryu. He would show the quincy the error of his ways. Then he would kill him.

* * *

Elsewhere

Ichigo ran through the corridors of Los Noches, Nell in hand, Zangetsu in the other. Dordonii's words still on his mind.

_Dorodonii laid beaten on the floor, most of his wounds healed by Nell's saliva._

"_Beaten again." Dorodonii said. "First those three, now you, nino. It seems I was never meant to be an Espada again."_

"_Those three?" Ichigo asked._

_Dordonii weakly chuckled. "A few weeks ago, Aizen-sama offered myself and two other Privaron Espada, a chance to rejoin the Espada. All we had to do was beat three new arrancar. There names were Mizuiro Kojima, Keigo Asano, and Tatsuki Arisawa."_

_Ichigo's eyes widened. "You fought against them?"_

"_Yes. We fought them with everything we had and we were winning...until they released their zanpaku-tos. They beat us, much like you beat me. And they've only gotten stronger since. Which isn't surprising considering one of them is now an Espada."_

_Ichigo's heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened even further. "What?"_

"_Arisawa became the Sixth Espada after she beat Grimmjow for it."_

Tatsuki was now an Espada. What's more, she had beaten Grimmjow for it. Whom he had at best, fought to a draw. Though he probably could beat him if his mask lasted longer than eleven seconds. Tatsuki was right, he really should have trained harder on keeping his mask intact for a longer period of time.

Again he found himself worrying about Rukia, Chad, Renji and Uryu. Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro were all suppose to be at about the same level. Ichigo knew he could fight on their level for a time at least, but the others...

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Rukia's spiritual pressure take a nosedive. Ichigo stopped dead in his tracks. Had Rukia died?

A quick double check confirmed that Rukia hadn't died but was currently weak. Fortunately, he couldn't sense any foreign spiritual pressure near her. She had beaten who ever she was fighting and was likely recovering right now.

"What ith it Ichigo?" Nell asked.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Ichigo resumed running down the corridor until he reached the next chamber.

It was a large room, with large pillars lining the walls. Directly in front of him was a staircase that lead to another door. The room was dimly lit. In fact, most of the light was coming from the two doorways.

"So, you've finally arrived. And here I was thinking that you die before you got here Ichigo." a voice called out.

Ichigo instantly knew who it was.

"Tatsuki." he said as he set Nell down.

Tatsuki appeared at the top of the steps, grinning, along with a trio of arrancar he had never seen before. "Welcome Ichigo, to the Domain of the Sixth Espada. My Domain. And these are my Fraccion. Shani, Orga, and Clotho. Oh, by the way, Rukia is dead."

"No she isn't" Ichigo said. "I felt her spiritual pressure drop but she's still alive."

"Well not for long anyway." Tatsuki replied. "She managed to kill the Ninth Espada but not before he managed to impale her. I doubt she'll survive another ten minutes."

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock. He had to save her. Ichigo turned around and was about to head back the way he came when Tatsuki spoke again, "What'd think you're doing Ichigo?"

"I don't have time at the moment to fight you or your buddies, Tatsuki." he replied.

"And you think that way is the way to go." Tatsuki said. "It isn't Ichigo. They only way to save Rukia, to rescue Orihime, is this way. Through me."

Tatsuki snapped her fingers and the doorway sealed shut.

"It seems that I have no other choice but to fight you Tatsuki." Ichigo said as he turned around.

"Good. I have to admit, before I simply wanted to beat you to prove to you and everybody else just how strong I've become."

"I never thought of you as weak, Tatsuki." Ichigo said, interrupting her.

"LAIR!!" she shouted. "You, and all the others, thought I was weak, helpless, pitiful. That's why you hid everything from us! Why you lied to us! But now I'm stronger than you. And I will destroy you. Not because you thought me weak. Not because you lied to me. But because of what you are! An abomination to everything that I am!"

Ichigo was taken back by what Tatsuki had said. He wanted to try to reason with her, to try to explain his actions to her. To try to reach any of the humanity still inside her. But it was clear that there was no other option but to fight.

"Hey boss, can we play that little thing?" Orga asked.

Ichigo moved in front of Nell, to protect her from any threat.

"I wouldn't waste my time on that little thing. She actually looks weaker than Orihime."

"Nell, get back." he said.

The pint-sized arrancar nervously glanced at Tatsuki and her Fraccion than Ichigo. "Be careful Ichigo." she said as hid behind one of the pillars.

"I will."

"Aw...Is Ichigo's little friend worried about him?" Tatsuki mocked as she walked down the stairs. "Don't worry. Ichigo's death will be relatively painless. And I plan to preserve his body and mount it in my Domain, so you can visit him anytime you want."

Ichigo shuddered at Tatsuki's grisly comment.

"Did I scare you Ichigo?" Tatsuki said as she reached the floor. "You should be scared Ichigo. I meant every word of it."

Ichigo raised Zangetsu and flash-stepped behind Tatsuki. But Tatsuki kept up with him, she grabbed his sword arm and threw him across the room and sonidoed. Ichigo got back up to his feet, only to feel Tatsuki's knee connect with his stomach.

Ichigo lurched forward and coughed up some blood. Then a fist impacted his face, sending him staggering backwards.

Ichigo knew what he had to do to beat her. He raised his left hand over face, preparing to summon his hollow mask.

Tatsuki smirked and drew her own sword. "Yes. Put that ugly face on. So I can rip it off!"

Ichigo brought his hand down, summoning his mask while Tatsuki swung her sword at him, but Ichigo parried the blow and sliced horizontally across her chest.

Ichigo struck again but Tatsuki blocked it and kicked him in the chest. Ichigo staggered back.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo shouted as he swung his sword.

Tatsuki attempted to block the wave of black energy that surged towards her. The wave struck Tatsuki and exploded. Before the smoke even cleared, a cero shot out towards Ichigo. Though Ichigo blocked the cero with Zangetsu, the force of the cero's impact sent him flying backwards into the wall.

When the smoke cleared, Ichigo was standing, his mask was intact and aside from a few minor burns on his hands and his coat, he was fine. Tatsuki was still standing, there were burn marks along her jacket and her hands, forearms, and her abdomen.

The two warriors glanced at each other for an instance before the two flash-stepped/sonidoed and struck. They swung again and again at each other. Blade struck blade, blade struck flesh. Numerous cuts spread across their bodies as time slowed to a crawl, but neither warrior cared. All that mattered was the battle and winning.

_Crack...crack...crack...CRACK!_

Most of Ichigo's mask shattered, breaking their focus. The entire right side of the crumbled, leaving the majority of the left side intact. A feral grin spread across Tatsuki's face. "Looks like your time is up Ichigo. Now, DIE!!"

Tatsuki swung her sword downward, intending to slice Ichigo in half. Ichigo raised Zangetsu to block the attack and to Tatsuki's surprise, he managed to stop the blade a few inches from his head.

"What?!" Tatsuki shouted in disbelief. "How?! Your mask is gone! How can you have the strength to block this attack?!"

"My mask isn't entirely gone." Ichigo said.

Ichigo knew his mask wasn't gonna last much longer. But hopefully, it would last long enough for Ichigo to beat her.

Ichigo pushed her back and pulled Zangetsu back. He gathered as much reiatsu as he could. Black flames swirled around the length of Zangetsu. "GETSUGA TENSHOU!!"

Ichigo swung Zangetsu, releasing a massive wave of black flames as he felt the remaining part of her mask crumble. Tatsuki's eye widened in shock as she raised her arms to block the attack. The wave hit her dead on and exploded, leaving a smoke filled crater.

"Boss!" Orga yelled. "No way!"

Clotho growled. "You're gonna pay!!"

"Yes he will, Clotho." Tatsuki said as the smoke started to clear.

Tatsuki looked like she was in rough shape. There were a number of cuts and burns on her skin. The right sleeve of her coat was gone while there was only a little bit left of the left sleeve. Her coat no longer extended past the top of her hollow hole. There were tears and burns all over her coat and hakama. Ichigo was surprised that she was still standing with all that damage. All she said was, "My turn."

Tatsuki sonidoed and reappeared right in front of him and swung her sword at him. Ichigo raised Zangetsu to block, but the force of Tatsuki's swing was so great that it knocked his sword out of his hands before tearing across his chest. Ichigo staggered back while Tatsuki sheathed her sword and grabbed him like a piece of luggage. Tatsuki then started running towards one of the rows of pillars. She drove Ichigo headfirst through the pillars, shattering all of them in two. Then tossed him across the room.

Ichigo struggled to get to his feet. His head was spinning. Blood was dripping down his face. He managed to get onto his hands and knees but couldn't get any further. He heard Nell scream his name.

Ichigo looked up at Nell, who was running towards him. Suddenly, Tatsuki appeared in front of her. Tatsuki grabbed Nell with one hand and lifted her up to her face.

"Now what is a little arrancar like you, doing with Aizen-sama's enemies?" Tatsuki asked.

"Ichigo'th my friend." Nell said as bravely as she could.

"Friend huh? Well then, that means you're a traitor to Aizen-sama. And traitors deserve only death." Tatsuki said as she raised her free hand up to Nell's face.

"Nell!" Ichigo shouted as he climbed to his feet. "Let her go Tatsuki!"

Tatsuki looked over her shoulder at him. "So you're still able to get up and fight Ichigo. I have to give you credit Ichigo. You're..."

Tatsuki stopped talking as her eyes widened. She then looked to her left for a moment. "Impossible! Orihime's on the move! Someone has freed her!"

Ichigo was surprised at Tatsuki's announcement. He could sense Chad still fighting, while Renji and Uryu were moving deeper into Los Noches and Rukia was still out of commission. So who had freed Orihime? And where was she for that matter?

"Shani, Clotho, Orga, she's still in Ulquiorra's Domain! Go there, find her, kill the person who freed her and bring her here! I'll join you once I finish with Ichigo! Remember, Aizen-sama has ordered us not to harm Orihime unless in self-defense."

"But we can do what ever we want to the one who took her, right?" Shani asked.

"You got it."

The three grinned and sonidoed away.

"Here Ichigo." Tatsuki said as she grabbed and tossed Zangetsu at him. "Let's finish this."

Ichigo caught Zangetsu. "Let Nell go Tatsuki."

"As you wish." she said before tossing Nell at him.

The second he caught her, Tatsuki charged at them, her sword drawn. Ichigo barely managed to dive out of the way. Tatsuki tore through the wall behind them and landed on the desert floor outside of her Domain.

Ichigo set Nell down and headed towards the hole in the wall.

""Wait! Don't go Ichigo!" Nell shouted.

"I have to. Tatsuki was my friend before Aizen turned her into that monster."

Ichigo leapt through the hole. When he hit the ground, he looked at Tatsuki. Tatsuki looked back. Both of them were bleeding and battered. Both knew they only had enough strength for one last attack.

Both warriors roared as they started to run at each other.

They struck.

Ichigo and Tatsuki stood there, facing each other, for moment.

"Dammit..." Ichigo groaned before falling lifelessly to the ground.

"A draw..." Tatsuki coughed up some blood. "I hate draws..."

Tatsuki fell to the ground as well.

Both laid lifelessly on the ground. Tatsuki's blade was impaling Ichigo's chest while Zangetsu was going through Tatsuki's chest.

"Ichigo! Ichigo!!" Nell shouted as tears started to roll down her face.

* * *

Elsewhere

Grimmjow forced Orihime down the seemingly endless corridors. Where they going, Orihime didn't know. Why Grimmjow had taken her, for that matter, was equally unknown to her.

She could feel Ichigo and Tatsuki fighting again.

She suddenly felt both Tatsuki's and Ichigo's spiritual pressures drop to almost drop to almost nothing. She stopped immediately. "Ichigo...Tatsuki..." she quietly said as her eyes began to water.

"Keep moving." Grimmjow growled as he pushed her forward. "Damn Kurosaki. Damn Arisawa. You two better not die before I get to kill you."

* * *

Elsewhere

Chad looked up form the fallen Gantenbainne. He had just felt Ichigo reiatsu almost entirely disappear.

"Hang on Ichigo." he said as he started running towards where Ichigo was before he spiritual pressure almost entirely disappeared.

* * *

Nearby

Keigo was shocked when he felt Tatsuki spiritual pressure drop to near nothing. It was Ichigo, he knew that much. He was the only one out of the intruders that could possibly beat them.

Though ultimately he wasn't worried. Her Fraccion would see to it that Tatsuki would get medical attention right away. After all, if something happened to Tatsuki, then Aizen would likely lock those nutjobs back up in their cells.

Why Tatsuki made those three lunatics her Fraccion was beyond him. But it was her choice. When he would become an Espada, his Fraccion would be a bunch of hotties.

Keigo grinned at the thought. Aaroniero was dead, which meant that there was an opening on the Espada. Perhaps if he brought Aizen Chad's head and mismatched arms, Aizen would promote him.

_'Well Chad, it looks like today is your unlucky day.'_

Keigo sonidoed in front of Chad. "Hey Chad!" he greeted. "Where're yah going?"

* * *

That's all for now.

Why I chose the Druggies (a nickname for Shani, Orga, and Clotho) as Tatsuki's Fraccion? Well, originally I didn't plan on having Fraccion for Tatsuki but when I started writing this chapter, I thought that maybe I should give her a few. And I happened to be watching an episode of Gundam Seed, when the idea popped into my head to use those three as her Fraccion. So I decided to use them. You'll be seeing more of them in later chapters.

Review!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Gundam Seed

**Chapter Seventeen**

Los Noches

Shani, Orga, Clotho ran through the corridors of Los Noches, heading towards Ulquiorra's Domain, when they felt the boss's spiritual pressure drop.

All three of them stopped. "The boss." Shani said fearfully. "If she dies..."

They all knew what would happen if the boss died. The big Boss would lock them back up. Back in those black cells.

"I'm not going back! I'm not going back!" Shani frantically shouted over and over again.

"Shut up dumbass!" Clotho yelled, interrupting Shani's mantra. "She's not dead!"

"That's enough! Leave him alone Clotho." Orga said. "All we have to do is grab the girl and bring her back to boss and have her heal the boss as good as new."

"What about the one who took her?" Clotho asked angrily. "We just gonna let them go?"

"Of course not." Orga replied. "It'll only takes one of us to take the girl back to the boss. The others can play with them."

* * *

Elsewhere

Chad had made it only a few feet when Keigo appeared in front of him.

"Hey Chad!" he greeted. "Where're yah going?"

"Keigo." he said. "I was going to go help Ichigo, but now I'm gonna save you."

Keigo groaned. "Not that again. I'm growing really tired of that. I don't need your help or for you to save me."

"It doesn't matter Keigo. I'm your friend and I'll help you even if you don't want it."

"Friend?" Keigo said bitterly. "And exactly what kinda friend were you? Or Ichigo for that matter? As soon as you guys got your powers, we became nothing to you. Because we didn't have powers of our own."

"That's not true Keigo." Chad said. "We didn't tell you guys because we were trying to protect you. Not because we thought you nothing."

"It doesn't really matter any more Chad." Keigo said. "The time for talk is over."

Keigo pulled out his kamas and spun them in his hands. Chad raised his arms and transformed them back into their armored forms.

"Hmm...An armored left arm and a new right arm. Let's see what they can do." Keigo said before throwing both of his kamas at him.

* * *

Elsewhere

Uryu and Pesche ran through the seemingly endless corridors of Los Noches. Uryu had felt both Rukia's and Ichigo's spiritual pressure drop to near nothing. Chad was some distance off while Renji was fairly close.

The two of them entered a rather large, square room with a number of large, randomly placed pillars and a doorway on each wall.

"Hello Uryu." Mizuiro said as he emerged from the hallway on their left. "Who's that weirdo?"

"Weirdo? I'm Pesche Guatiche. Of the Great Des-"

Mizuiro fire a bala at Pesche's feet, startling and interrupting Pesche.

"Sorry. I hate to interrupt people but you are way too annoying."

"Annoying?! I'm not-"

Mizuiro fired at another bala.

"Sorry again. But please stop talking or I will kill you first."

"Mizuiro." Uryu said as he drew his bow. "Why don't you save us all some time and surrender. You're no match for me."

"So arrogant." Mizuiro said as he shook his head. "You disgust me Uryu. Particularly your annoying habit of sparing your opponents. I told you the last time we met that this isn't a place of mercy. Mercy is something that only the weak possess and the weak can not survive here."

Uryu didn't say anything. Instead, he fired the two fastest arrow he had ever fired. Arrows aimed directly at his soul chain and soul sleep.

Mizuiro countered by firing a pair of balas. The balas and arrows impacted each other, canceling each other out.

"Trying to destroy my soul chain and soul sleep, Uryu?" Mizuiro said. "That's an absolutely dirty trick. And the most gulling part about it, is that you think of it as a mercy. A mercy! Taking away a person's purpose for living, then leaving them alive. And they call arrancar monsters. No one here is that cruel."

"I don't need to defend myself from you for doing that." Uryu said.

"Such arrogance. I'm going to enjoy destroying that arrogance before I kill you." Mizuiro said as he raised his hands.

Mizuiro fired a barrage of balas at him. Uryu dived out of the way, rolled and fired a barrage of arrows at him. Mizuiro ducked behind a pillar, dodging the shots. A second later, he emerged, firing more balas. Uryu leaped behind a nearby pillar, before firing another barrage of arrows.

The arrows destroyed the pillar but Mizuiro sonidoed away before they hit.

Mizuiro reappeared some distance behind him and fired a pair of ceros at him. Uryu dodged it with a Hirenkyaku. He reappeared to the left of Mizuiro and fired more arrows.

Mizuiro turned and fired balas, canceling the attack.

The two of them stood there for a moment, staring at each other.

"Is it over?" Pesche nervously asked from behind a pillar.

Both of them ignored him.

"Not bad Uryu. It seems I will not be able to beat you with balas alone." Mizuiro said as he drew his sword.

Uryu drew one of his Seele Schneiders. "So it seems."

"En garde."

The two sonidoed/Hirenkyaku and struck.

* * *

Elsewhere

Domain of the Fourth Espada

Ulquiorra was nearing Orihime's cell. He had felt the end of Kurosaki's and Tatsuki's battle. They had fought to draw. Though Kurosaki might as well as lost. No doubt, Tatsuki's Fraccion were currently dragging every nearby medic to her location. Probably not because they actually cared about her, but more due to the fact that if she died, Aizen-sama would likely lock them back up. The one thing they feared.

Once she was healed, Tatsuki would no doubt finish Kurosaki off and likely present his corpse to Aizen-sama.

As he neared Orihime's cell, Ulquiorra heard muffled shouting. No doubt, Menoly and Loly were tormenting the human girl. Ulquiorra didn't care, as long they weren't physically harming her.

Ulquiorra rounded the corner, only to find a gaping hole where the door to Orihime's cell was.

Suddenly, Menoly and Loly were thrown through the hole and hit the wall.

"Finishing move!!" a voice that he identified as Clotho's, shouted.

Ulquiorra, already knowing what was about to happen, sonidoed in front of the hole in the wall, intercepting the heavy, spiked ball on a black cable that was coming towards the two arrancar. Inside the room, he could see Shani, Clotho and Orga standing the room. There was no sigh of Orihime.

"What's going on here? Where is the girl?" Ulquiorra asked as he held the spherical breaker in one hand.

"Ulquiorra-sama! Thank you for saving us from these psychos." Menoly said as she and Loly stood up.

"Where is Orihime?" he asked again.

"We don't know." Loly said. "We were walking by when we saw the hole in the wall and found these three lunatics in here."

"Lairs!" Orga shouted. "We found you two here!"

"You're the lairs!" Menoly shouted back.

"Enough." Ulquiorra said, silencing the arguing arrancar.

Ulquiorra knew who was lying. Shani, Clotho and Orga, whether it was because of their psychosis or some other reason, were incapable of lying. Which meant that Menoly and Loly were lying.

He turned to the two females. "Where is Orihime?"

"We don't know." Loly frantically said. "We told you, we found these psychos here when we got here."

"You are lying. I want the truth or I will allow them to continue what they were doing."

The girls' faces paled. "Alright." Menoly said. "We were in the cell when the girl was still here."

"Why?" Ulquiorra asked.

Menoly mumbled out something that sounded like, "Playing with her."

Ulquiorra knew what that meant. They had been torturing the human. Against Aizen-sama's orders.

"What happened to her?" he demanded.

"Grimmjow came and took her." Loly said.

Ulquiorra knew at once what the ex-Espada was planning. Grimmjow wished to beat both Kurosaki and Tatsuki, to prove he was stronger. He let go of Clotho's zanpaku-to. Clotho pulled it back. Ulquiorra turned to the three Fraccion and said, "Grimmjow is taking her to Tatsuki's Domain. He wishes to fight Tatsuki and Kurosaki. I will go get her."

Ulquiorra started to walk towards the Sixth Espada's Domain. "Shani, Orga, Clotho, do what you want to those two, but do not kill them and lock them up when you're done. I will deal with them later."

Ulquiorra heard the three chuckle darkly while Loly and Menoly screamed as he walked away.

* * *

Elsewhere

"Not bad Chad." Keigo said as pulled back his kamas again.

Chad just stood there, his arms raised in a defensive stance. He had blocked every shot Keigo had thrown at him. But Chad had a feeling that Keigo was playing with him.

"Let's see how you handle something a little faster." Keigo said before sonidoing away.

Chad quickly drove his left elbow behind him and into Keigo's stomach.

Keigo stumbled back a few steps and coughed up a little bit of blood. "You've gotten faster." Keigo commented. "Good. At least now you're a bit of a challenge. But you're..."

Kiego sonidoed again and reappeared on his right. "Still..."

"Not..." A second Keigo said from his left.

"Fast..." A third Keigo said from behind him.

"Enough." they said as one.

They all sonidoed and attacked. Chad felt six separate blades slash across his body. The four blades on the sides, he blocked with his arms, while the two that came from behind cut into his back. The cuts were shallow but painful.

"See Chad. You can't beat me. Why not surrender Chad. Who knows maybe Aizen-sama will let you live in his world once he wins."

"He won't win Keigo."

"Maybe, maybe not." Keigo said. "But that's not why we're here."

"No it's not." Chad said as started running at Keigo, charging an El Directo as he ran.

Keigo smirked and sonidoed to intercept him. But that's exactly what Chad wanted. At the last second, Chad used his own high speed move, catching Keigo completely off guard. Chad reappeared behind him and attacked. Slamming his fist into Keigo's back. Keigo screamed as he flew forward, skidding across the white sands.

Keigo groaned as he picked himself up. "Damn...That hurt. I have to admit, that was a surprise Chad. So, what'd you call that move?"

"I haven't thought up a name for it yet."

"Too bad. You're never gonna get a chance." Keigo said with a grin. "Time for round two!"

Keigo sonidoed. Chad raised his shield arm. The kamas struck the shield, but it held. Chad punched at Keigo with his left hand. His fist impacted Keigo's face, sending him flying.

"Ow...Okay, now I'm getting annoyed." Keigo said as he got up.

Keigo sonidoed again and reappeared in three different locations around him, charging a cero.

"Last time I did this I keep on moving between the same three spots and attacked you three separate times." Keigo said. "This time however, I can only fire one cero at you. But the question is, where's it gonna come from?"

That was the question. Three different directions. Three different sides he could be attacked from. Chad did the only thing he could. He moved into a defensive stance and braced himself for the attack.

"Bang!" the Keigo on his left said before firing the cero.

* * *

Elsewhere

Uryu wasn't fairing all that well. Though they were both about equal in terms of skill with a sword. Mizuiro had one major advantage. He could fire his ceros and balas with one hand, where as he needed both hands to fire an arrow. This meant that Mizuiro was able to fire a bala every time they crossed swords.

Which he did just about every time they crossed swords.

Fortunately, he managed to Hirenkyaku out of it's path every time. Unfortunately, anytime he tried to fire off an arrow, Mizuiro would attack with his sword.

Uryu found himself, slowly being beaten back. If he couldn't come up with a plan to disable Mizuiro, he would lose.

Suddenly, an idea came to him.

"Pesche!" he shouted as he parried a sword swing.

"What?!" the odd hollow asked.

"Do you have any of your Infinite Slick ready?!" Uryu asked as he swung his sword at Mizuiro.

"Sure! Why?!"

"What are you two babbling about, Uryu?" Mizuiro asked. "You think that weakling can save you?"

Uryu smirked. "He's not going to save me, he's going to help me defeat you."

Uryu lunged at him, attempting to stab Mizuiro. Mizuiro blocked the attacked and rised his free hand to fire a cero. But before he could, Uryu drew another Seele Schneider and stabbed it through his hand.

"AAAAARGH!!" Mizuiro screamed in agony as back off and tried to pull it out.

Uryu stabbed Mizuiro's sword arm with the other Seele Schneider and grabbed him. "Now Pesche! Spray him with all you got!"

"But you're-"

"NOW!"

Pesche complied and sprayed all of the Infinite Slick at the two. At the last possible second, Uryu preformed a Hirenkyaku and avoided being hit with the Slick, leaving Mizuiro to get covered in the Slick.

"Gah!" Mizuiro shouted in disgust as the two Seele Schneiders slowly slid out of his wounds.

"What?! What is this?!"

Suddenly, Mizuiro lost his grip on his sword.

"It's called Infinite Slick." Uryu explained. "Though it really shouldn't be called Infinite. But that's a whole other thing. Basically, it's a chemical substance that completely removes an object's friction."

"What?!" Mizuiro shouted in disbelief.

Mizuiro took a step forward...only to slip, lose his balance, fall on his face and slide across the ground in a comical manner, cursing as it happened.

"Pesche, how long does you're Slick last?" Uryu asked.

"About an hour."

"Okay." Uryu said as he pulled out two Seele Schneiders.

Mizuiro came to a stop when he hit a wall. Mizuiro tried to get up, only to slip and fall. Uryu planted the two blades on both Mizuiro, just past his feet. He drew two more and planted them just past his head. He then pulled out four small containers, filled with his spiritual energy. He used a Hirenkyaku and planted one about six feet above each blade. When he did, a beam of reiatsu stretched out from the containers to the swords and to each other. Creating a cell. One that fed on the reiatsu in the air to sustain itself. It would last indefinitely until he released it.

"It looks like you weren't able to...What was it? Destroy my arrogance and kill me." Uryu said as he picked up the two Seele Schneiders from earlier and started to walk away. "Don't worry Mizuiro. Once I rescue Orihime, I'll come back and get you."

"Arrogant bastard." he heard Mizuiro cursed.

* * *

Mizuiro watched as that arrogant quincy left. Uryu was a fool. He was far from beaten.

Once the quincy and that hollow was gone, he licked his arm. Sampling that substance that coated his body. His mind quickly analyzed the substance and came up with a counter agent. Mizuiro applied the agent to his body, nullifying the 'Slick'.

Mizuiro stood up. Now to break out of the cage. He poked one of the walls of his cage. He received a mild shock. He fired a cero at a wall. Nothing. He wasn't about to break any of these walls any time soon. Not without releasing his zapaku-to anyway. Which he couldn't do as it was outside the cage.

Mizuiro glanced at the ground beneath his feet.

'I wonder...'

He backed into a corner and floated a few inches above the ground and fired a cero.

The ground exploded, leaving a large hole.

Mizuiro smirked. The arrogant fool didn't realize that his cage didn't cover the ground.

Now the quincy would pay for his foolishness.

* * *

Elsewhere

Domain of the Sixth Espada

Grimmjow dragged Orihime into a new chamber. This room was heavily damaged. There were cracks in walls and the floor, one of the rows of pillars that lined the walls were completely destroyed and there was a big gaping hole in the wall.

Grimmjow picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. Then he jumped out of the hole.

When they reached the ground, Orihime heard the sounds of a little girl crying, but couldn't see who as her head was behind Grimmjow's back.

Grimmjow set her on the ground and undid the bindings on her wrists. Orihime turned around and saw a sight that instantly brought tears to her eyes.

Lying on was Ichigo and Tatsuki. Both had numerous cuts all across their bodies as well as the other's sword through their chests. The crying was coming from a little green haired arrancar girl, who was trying desperately to remove Tatsuki's sword from Ichigo's chest.

"Pathetic." Grimmjow growled as stepped towards her fallen friends.

Grimmjow grabbed the little arrancar and without even a glance tossed her to the side and then pulled out the swords from Ichigo's and Tatsuki's chests.

"Heal them. Both of them." Grimmjow ordered.

"What?"

"Do you have a hearing problem or something? Heal them. I won't fight half-dead opponents."

Orihime, seeing on other option, complied with his orders.

"Soten Kishun. I reject." Orihime said, summoning Shuno and Ayame to heal Ichigo and Tatsuki.

She been healing them for all of a minute when Orihime heard the familiar static buzz of a sonido. She and Grimmjow turned around and saw Ulquiorra standing there.

"What are you doing Grimmjow?" Ulquiorra asked in his usual monotone.

"What does it look like? I'm gonna fight and kill both Kurosaki and Arisawa and regain my number."

"I can not allow you to heal Kurosaki. He is an enemy. He must be destroyed, not healed."

Grimmjow smirked. "I thought you might say that."

Grimmjow suddenly lunged at Ulquiorra and grabbed him by the collar of his coat.

"Do you honestly believe that you can beat me Grimmjow?"

"I can. But I'm not here to fight you." he replied as he pulled some out of his pocket and slammed it into Ulquiorra's chest.

"What-" was all Ulquiorra said before he was pulled into a black hole and disappeared.

"That'll hold him for a couple of hours." Grimmjow said. "Hurry up and heal them, girl."

Orihime resumed healing her friends. Their injuries were severe. She found it difficult to heal Ichigo's wounds in particular but Tatsuki wasn't that much better.

"Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened.

* * *

Next Chapter: The Release Forms will be revealed.

Review


	18. Chapter 18

Yo everybody! Before I start the next chapter, I have something important to say. This story has reached over 10,000 hits!! I want to say something to all the people who have reviewed my story, to the people who put it in their favorites or alerts and to all of my fans, Thank You! It's you guys that have given me the drive to write my stories. Heres to the next 10,000 hits!

Now that that's out of the way. It's time for what I've been waiting for. And I imagine, most of my fans as well. The release forms.

Darkanagel1910: Than I've done my job. I've actually written the last section of the final chapter. The ending will be kinda bitter sweet, both happy and sad. But it will lead into the squeal I have planned. And that's all I'm gonna say about the ending.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but this piece of fanfiction.

**Chapter Eighteen**

"_You've been abandoned. Forgotten. You are weak. Pathetic." the voice said. "I can change that. I can make you stronger. Stronger than any mere human. Strong enough to destroy those who abandoned you. To prove to all just how strong you are. All I ask for is one little thing."_

"_What?" she asked._

"_Your heart. The core of your humanity. You won't need it anymore. In exchange for your heart, you will become something greater, stronger, and superior to humans."_

"_Yes dammit!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "I want power! I want to be stronger! If I have to give up my humanity, than so be it! Make me stronger!"_

_The voice laughed. "Excellent."_

_The darkness descended on her...and she was reborn._

_She opened her eyes._

* * *

Tatsuki opened her eyes. There was a familiar orange glow covering her vision. She also noted that her wounds were slowly healing themselves. She sat up, spat out the blood in her mouth and looked around. Next to her was Ichigo, lying bloody and unconscious. Another glance. Orihime, kneeling next her and Ichigo, healing them and staring at her with a worried look on her face. Another glance revealed Grimmjow.

"Grimmjow." she said. "I should have know that only you'd be stupid enough to take Orihime out of her cell while intruders are in Los Noches."

"It won't matter. You and Kurosaki are gonna die and I'm gonna get my number back."

"Like a pathetic failure like you would ever become an Espada again."

"Bitch."

"Cripple."

Grimmjow growled. "Hurry up and heal them girl."

"You plan to take us both on at the same time?" Tatsuki said in disbelief. "You're either braver than I gave you credit for or stupider. Personally, I think it's the latter."

* * *

Elsewhere

"Bang!" Keigo shouted as he fired off the cero.

The cero flew towards Chad. Chad spun towards the cero, raising his shield arm as he did.

The cero struck his arm and exploded. Chad had survived the blast in one piece, though the shield part of his right arm was almost entirely blackened from the impact. Of course, had it struck just about anywhere else on his body, even he would have been badly hurt by the attack.

"Wow! That's one tough arm. But it's gonna take more than that to beat me." Keigo said as he started spinning his kamas again.

Keigo threw his kamas like he had so many times before. But this time, Chad caught them before they hit him.

"What?!" Keigo shouted in surprise as he tried to pull his kamas back.

Chad wasn't about to let go of the kamas. He started spinning, causing Keigo to spin as well. Chad could have sworn he heard Keigo shout, "Not again!!"

After a good minute of spinning, Chad let go, causing him to crash into a wall of a nearby structure and fall down to sand below.

Suddenly, the kamas came back to life and attacked. One blade dug into his left shoulder while the slashed across his chest. Keigo stood up as his kamas pulled back. He seemed to be favoring his right shoulder.

"Damn. I think you dislocated my shoulder." he said as he tucked his kamas back into his belt.

He then proceeded to snap his shoulder back into place, letting out a small yelp of pain as he did.

"That's better. Now, where were we?"

* * *

Elsewhere

Mizuiro had followed the unsuspecting quincy all the way to Szayel's Domain. The pink haired Espada was battling Uryu and that tattooed lieutenant, Renji Abarai. There was also that moronic hollow from before as well as another one.

He decided to stay hidden and watch as the two tried to defeat the top arrancar scientist. They had come close with the use of an unstable kido spell from Renji and some rather powerful quincy attack called a Sprenger. But Szayel survived and just finished restoring himself by devouring one of Fraccion. A disgusting sight.

"You know, you come out and show yourself Mizuiro." Szayel said as he discarded his dead Fraccion's arm.

Everyones' (expect for Szayel) eyes widened in surprise.

"How did you know I was there?" he asked as he stepped into the room.

"I have my ways." the pink haired arrancar smugly replied.

"How did you escape my slick?!" that annoying hollowed shouted.

"Oh that? I simply analyzed your 'slick' and came up with a counter agent." he answered. "Here let me show you."

Mizuiro then sprayed that hollow with his own slick, causing him to slip and start sliding across the floor. A minute later, he sprayed a second liquid on to the sliding hollow, canceling out the slick and stopping him.

"Quite an interesting ability you have Mizuiro. I would very much like to study it in greater detail." Szayel said with an excited grin.

_'I bet you would, nutjob. But that's not about to happen anytime soon.'_

"Perhaps later. We have intruders to worry about."

Szayel smirked and chuckled. "Quite right. Come. We'll give these fools a brief chance to come up with some new strategies. I need a change of clothes anyway." he said as he turned and started walking away from Uryu and Renji.

Szayel took a few steps, stopped and turned to Renji and Uryu. "If I were you two, I'd try to escape before we come back." he said before resuming walking towards a door

Mizuiro followed him while Uryu and Renji seemed to follow Szayel's advice and ran the opposite way. The goofy looking hollows following them.

Mizuiro and Szayel walked down a short hallway and into a room. The room seemed to be a cross between Szayel's bedroom and security control room. Szayel walked over to the console and pushed a few buttons.

"That should keep them busy for awhile." he commented before walking to his dresser.

Mizuiro walked up to the console and looked at the screens. Somehow, Szayel had altered the layout of his domain to prevent Uryu and Renji from escaping. They would end up running around in circles for a good ten minutes before ending up back where they started.

"I designed my Domain to be an extension of my own body. I'm aware of anyone and everyone who enters my Domain and I can alter it as needed."

"Ah...So that's how you knew I was there."

Szayel finished putting on a new uniform. "Well then, shall we see how they're doing?"

Mizuiro grinned. "Yes. Let's finish them off."

* * *

Keigo lunged at Chad slashing across the chest, while Chad's right fist slammed into Keigo's forehead, driving him back.

Both combatants had yet to truly overpower the other. As a result, the battle had degraded into a bloody brawl that seemed to have no end in sight. Chad knew that he was physically stronger than Keigo. Keigo on the other hand, was much faster.

"It seems that we are fairly evenly matched." Keigo said as he wiped some of the blood off his forehead. "But I think it's time to end this right here and now."

Chad knew what was about to happened. And braced himself for it.

"Soar Plumado Serpiente!" Keigo shouted as started to spin his kamas by their chains.

Faster and faster, the kamas spun while reiatsu surged around the spinning weapons. Suddenly, the kamas exploded, blanketing Keigo in fire and smoke.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed a large ball made up of dark blue feathers floating about a foot off the ground.

The ball opened up, revealing that the feathers belonged to two pairs of large wings emerging from Keigo's back. A long white, scaled tail with a rattle slid to the ground. Keigo's jacket was gone and his body and arms were covered in white scales with red and dark blue streaks running down his body and tail. His tail was connected to the middle of his back, just beneath his wings. He had retained his human legs and still wore his hakama and sandals. His finger nails had turned dark gary and had lengthened a bit. His mask fragments now looked like long, sharp spikes sticking out of his cheeks. Keigo grinned, revealing sharp, pointed teeth.

Keigo's right hand reached for his left side while his left hand went to his right side. His fingers dug into his flesh. If Keigo felt any pain, he didn't show it. Keigo pulled out two of his ribs which transformed into replicas of his kamas. The wounds the action caused, instantly healed up. The tip of Keigo's tail lifted up and started shaking the rattle on it.

"Good bye Chad."

Keigo sonidoed and struck.

* * *

Renji didn't like how things were fairing. He hadn't been fairing all that well against the pink haired whackjob, mainly because he had neutralized his bankai. How the hell could he beat even a low level Espada without his bankai? As much as he hated to admit it, he sucked at kido.

Then Uryu showed up and their chances of victory rose. They had managed to severely injure the Espada, only to watch him regenerate by devouring one of his minions. Then when it looked like things couldn't get any worse, Mizuiro showed up. Which that in itself was a major problem as they couldn't kill him. They had to fight but at the same time hold back enough to prevent killing him.

So when they left, Uryu proposed that they escape Szayel's Domain and split up, causing Mizuiro and the Esapda to split up to chase after them.

They reached the top of the stairs and pushed open the door...only to find themselves back in the exact same room as before. They had even entered through the same door they left.

"This isn't possible." Uryu said as he looked around the chamber.

"Did you enjoy run?" the Espada asked as he entered the room. "I found it quite amusing. Did you really think that you could just leave like that?"

"Yeah." Renji answered with a nervous smile. "We kinda did."

The Espada chuckled. "This is my Domain. I am king here. Everything here obeys me. The very walls will move to my will. How can you possible escape a place like this?"

"But it doesn't matter. For now it's time for the final act." Szayel said as he drew his sword. "Sip Fornicaras!"

The Espada then shallowed his sword and expanded like a balloon. He exploded, revealing his creepy-looking release form.

"Hm...It's actually less creepy than I thought it would be." Mizuiro commented. "But then again, appearances can be deceiving. So there's no way of knowing just how creepy you are in that state."

Szayel bowed his head. "Thank you for the complement."

Mizuiro shrugged before drawing his sword and holding it out in front of him. "Consume Plaga!"

The entire sword, from the tip of the blade to the butt of the hilt turned black and broke apart into hundreds of little black flies. The flies flew around Mizuiro, their numbers increasing until Mizuiro's entire form was surrounded by a mini cyclone of flies.

A moment later, a pair of white hands with bright green fingers tipped with short, curved claws emerged. The palms of the hands turned upwards, revealing a hole the size of a quarter in the middle of both palms. All of the flies immediately swarmed both hands as they crawled into the holes in the palms. Revealing Mizuiro's released form.

Mizuiro wore a black, ragged looking, sleeveless robe that ended midway down his shins. It fluttered and shifted constantly, almost like it was a living organism. His arms now looked like bone covered in white skin with small, dime size, holes going up his arms. There were two tube-like protrusions coming out of his back. His sandals were gone. In their place, were white skinned feet with bright green talons. His mask had changed slightly. Three spike-like horns now emerged from the top of his mask fragment.

Mizuiro exhaled and small clouds of green mist came out of his nostrils and the ends of the tubes on his back.

"Why don't you go first Mizuiro." Szayel said. "After all, you're the guest here."

Mizuiro nodded. "Thank you Szayel."

Mizuiro raised his hands, firing ceros from each hand.

_'This is gonna be a pain in the ass.'_ Renji thought as he dodged the cero.

* * *

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He had been healed by somebody. Even his clothes had been restored.

"Ichigo!" two female voices cried out as a pair of arms wrapped around his neck in a hug, quickly joined by a second, smaller pair.

It was Orihime and Nell.

"Orihime? How-"

"So Sleeping Beauty finally wakes up." a familiar voice interrupted. "About damn time."

Ichigo looked up and saw Grimmjow staring at him with a wicked grin.

"Well then. Why don't we get this show on the road then." another familiar voice said. "I've grown tired of dealing with both of you."

Ichigo looked to his left. There, siting on a fallen white tree, was Tatsuki, fully healed.

"Yes." Grimmjow said. "Let's end this once and for all. Both of you have humiliated me for the last time. Now I will kill both of you and retake my position on the Espada!"

"You couldn't beat me before Grimmjow. What makes you think you can do it now?" Tatsuki said as she stood up.

"You got lucky Arisawa! Nothing more! You're not stronger than me!" an enraged Grimmjow shouted.

"Luck? You think it was luck that I beat you? Than you're a bigger idiot than I thought Grimmjow." Tatsuki said. "Luck had nothing to do with it. It was simply a difference in power and skill."

"We'll see Arisawa. We'll see."

Grimmjow sonidoed. But instead of going after Tatsuki, Grimmjow lunged at Ichigo, catching him off guard and slamming his fist into his head. Ichigo fell to the ground while Grimmjow charged a cero at him. But before Grimmjow could fire it, Tatsuki dropkicked his head. Tatsuki than offered her hand to him.

Ichigo, without thinking, took it. Tatsuki helped him up...Only to then grab his waist and suplex him into the white sand behind her, burying his head in the sand.

Tatsuki laughed. "I can't believe you fell for that Ichigo! When did I ever say I was fighting on the same side as you?"

Ichigo pulled his head out of the sand, only to get grabbed by Tatsuki. She lifted him up with one hand and started punching him in the face with her free hand for a while before throwing him behind her. Ichigo landed several feet behind her and as he tried to get up, he received a kick to the face from Tatsuki.

Tatsuki then tossed a resealed Zangetsu at his feet and said, "C'mon Ichigo! At least try to be a bit of a challenge! It'll really boring if you don't-"

Suddenly, Grimmjow appeared and drove a knee into Tatsuki's back. Sending her forward into the ground. Grimmjow followed up by jumping on her back and stomping on her.

"BANKAI! Tensa Zangetsu!"

Ichigo lunged at him with Zangetsu. But Grimmjow caught the black blade effortlessly.

"I've told you before. Your bankai just isn't enough Kurosaki." Grimmjow said before uppercutting him with his free hand.

Ichigo flew back a number of feet.

"Why don't you let out Him." Grimmjow said as he walked towards him. "He's the guy I wanna fight. He's a true-"

"Gran Rey Cero!" Tatsuki shouted from behind the two.

Both turned and saw Tatsuki back on her feet, her right palm charging a massive cero with her left arm supporting her right arm.

Time seemed to slow. Ichigo glanced behind him. His eyes widened in horror. Orihime and Nell were a few feet behind him. There was no way for them to get out of the way in time.

Tatsuki fired the giant cero. Grimmjow barely sonidoed out of the way. But Ichigo couldn't. Not with Orihime and Nell in danger.

Ichigo summoned his hollow mask and blocked the attack with Zangetsu.

When the smoke cleared, Grimmjow laughed at the sight of Ichigo and his mask. "There we go! There's the guy I wanna fight!"

Grimmjow lunged at him, but Ichigo flash stepped and reappeared next to Orihime and Nell. He grabbed them and flash stepped again. This time, he reappeared on top of a nearby structure and deposited them there.

"Orihime, summon your shield and don't let it drop for a second." he said.

"Ichigo..." Orihime said weakly.

"Don't worry Orihime. Everyone's going back home today, Tatsuki included."

As he flash stepped away, he heard Orihime say, "Be careful."

He reappeared and attacked Grimmjow. Grimmjow quickly drew his sword and blocked the attack. Tatsuki took this opportunity to attack him with her own zanpaku-to. But Ichigo effortlessly caught it and drove a foot into her side. Driving her into Grimmjow.

Ichigo let loose a barrage of sword swings at the two arrancars but because he was attacking the two of them at the same time, he wasn't able to actually land a strike on either of them.

Ichigo leapt back a few feet. "Getsuga Tenshou!"

A wave of black flames surged towards the two arrancars. Both barely sonidoed out of the way.

"Hmm...It looks like you've somehow gotten better Ichigo." Tatsuki said. "It's been over eleven seconds and yet you still have that mask on."

Grimmjow laughed again. "Finally! An opponent I can go all the way with!"

Grimmjow moved his sword to his left side.

"Grind Pantera!" Grimmjow shouted as he raked his hand across his sword.

Both Ichigo and Tatsuki flash stepped/sonidoed a good distance away from him. A vortex of reiatsu engulfed his body. There was a loud roar, like that of a jungle cat, followed by the reiatsu exploding.

When the smoke cleared, Grimmjow's release form was revealed. He resembled what Ichigo could best describe as a half-man, half-cat creature.

Tatsuki smirked. "Well now. I'm starting to feel a little underdressed for the occasion. Allow me to correct that."

Tatsuki raised her own zanpaku-to. "Impale Verdugo!"

Tatsuki drove the blade into her own chest. A white liquid poured out of the wound as the sword was absorbed into her body. The liquid quickly covered her entire body as reiatsu surged around her. The instant it finished, Tatsuki tilted her head back and let out a loud wolf howl. And the surging reiatsu exploded.

The smoke cleared, revealing Tatsuki's new form. Her body was covered in a white skin similar to Grimmjow's, but there were crimson spiral designs all over her body and limbs. Her muscles looked bigger and stronger than before. Her fingers were tipped with crimson claws and there were short, matching boney ridges sticking out of knuckles. Tatsuki's feet had become more animalistic. Her feet had lengthened and she stood on the balls of her feet, giving her added height. On each foot was four crimson talons for toes and a matching talon sticking out of her heel. The left side of her mask and it's horn-like ears had reformed, leaving only her lower jaw uncovered. Her canines, both on her mask and in her mouth, became longer. Her hair had grown wilder and a bit longer, ending just past her shoulders. Emerging from the base of her spine was three long tails tipped with wicked looking blades.

To sum it up, Tatsuki looked like a monster.

"Ah...It feels so good to be released again." Tatsuki said as she stretched her neck and flexed her clawed fingers. "It's been far too long since I've done this."

Tstsuki glanced at him and grinned. "What's the matter Ichigo?" she said in a mocking tone. "Afraid of me? You should be, cause I'm gonna peel the flesh from your bones."

Ichigo raised Zangetsu, ready for anything from the two released arrancar. He could already tell that this was gonna be one of the toughest battles he ever fought. But he was going to win.

* * *

Okay ladies and gentlemen, time for brief rundown on their abilities when they're in their released forms.

Keigo:

The first thing is that his speed greatly improves, enabling him to create 4 after images instead of the 2 he can only create in his normal form. Additional, his tongue is able to stretch to extreme lengths and can actually double as a third arm if need be.

As shown, he can painlessly remove parts of his body, such as his bones (they instantly regenerate if he does this) and turn them in to weapons. However, should something damage that body part, for example, someone breaks a bone, he can't use that body part to make a weapon until he gets it repaired. He calls this ability Hueso Amoldar (Bone Forging). Finally, he transform his hands back into their scythe blade state from when he was a hollow.

Mizuiro:

As I've stated in early chapters, Mizuiro's ability to create toxins and poisons and the like, is completely uninhibited in his released state.

But his most powerful ability is his flies. The live inside his body, constantly feeding off his reiatsu, (or any other reiatsu they can find) which enables them to survive and multiply. In exchange for feeding on his reiatsu, they become his most versatile and valuable weapon. They can sacrifice themselves to repair damage he sustains, though it greatly consumes the number of flies in his body and his own reiatsu to do it. Mizuiro can also consume them to replenish his own reiatsu levels when he needs to. He can also send swarms of them to simply attack his enemies, or form them together into various objects, ranging from simple shield to protect himself with, to large weapons and limbs to attack with, to complex copies of himself to trick his enemies.

Ultimately, they mask his biggest weakness, his physical frailty. For an arrancar of his level, Mizuiro's body in both states, is quite frail and can't withstand the levels of damage that other people of the same level can.

Tatsuki:

Tatsuki really has only three abilities in her released state. The first is her physical strength, which goes from scary in her normal form to insane in her released form.

Her second ability is called Acero Lluvia (Steel Rain). Her tail blades turn into a number of small, but razor sharp needles, which she can fire off in a high-speed barrage of needles. They don't cause much damage but penetrate just about anything and because of their speed, their hard to avoid. However, after she fires them all, it takes a few moments for the blades to regenerate.

Her final ability is called Muerte Corte (Death Blade). She generates energy blades around her limbs, arms, legs and tails. They can extent great distances but they grow weaker and duller the longer they become.

I'm gonna take a break from this story for awhile. How long? I don't know. Though actually post the fights first, then take a break, I haven't quite decided yet. But I do plan to start submitting the first couple of chapters of other stories I've been working (mostly Naruto fanfics) and will have a poll sometime in the future to see which one I should work on first.


	19. Chapter 19

Yo everybody! Originally I was gonna have this chapter after the fights, but I wrote about two-thirds of this chapter last night in one siting, so I decided to move this chapter ahead a few chapters. That and I've gotten over six hundreds hits since I posted my last chapter. So enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story and the OC I created for it.

**Chapter Nineteen**

Holding Cells of Los Noches

"Pathetic. They weren't any fun at all." Clotho said as he and Orga tossed the unconscious and beaten bodies of Loly and Menoly into a cell.

Orga slammed the cell door shut, locking the two girls in. "Look them. They're so weak, they probably won't survive unless we get a medic."

"Screw that!" Clotho shouted. "The Emo said to lock them up. He never said anything about getting a medic for them. If they die, it'll be his fault. Not ours."

Shani was leaning on the bars of the cell between them, staring into space while listening to his music, when suddenly, his eyes widened in panic.

"The Boss!" he frantically shouted. "We forgot about the Boss!"

All three of them started panicking.

"Shit!" Orga cursed. "We gotta get her a medic!"

"I don't think you'll be going anywhere." a voice said.

The three of them looked in the direction of the voice. It was Exequias and their leader.

"What the hell do you want?!" Clotho shouted at them.

"The three of you have attacked other arrancar without the authorization of Aizen-sama or one of the Espada." the Exequias Leader answered. "Because of that, Aizen-sama has ordered that the three of you be locked back up in your cells until further notice."

"The hell we are!" Clotho shouted. "The Boss is injured, Bullface! Get out of the way!"

"If you had bothered to check your pesquisa, you'd know that she was fine." he replied.

The Fraccion check their pesquisa. Their Boss was indeed back at a hundred percent. In fact, she had just released her zanpaku-to.

"Hm...That changes things. But we're still not gonna go back to those cells." Orga said.

"You don't have any choice. We have you outnumbered and cornered. Surrender and relinquish your weapons and you will not be harmed." the Leader said before signaling for three of the Exequias to approach the three arrancar.

A split second later, said Exequias members fell to the ground, dead. One's head was torn off, another was cut in two, down the center and the last one had a large round hole going through it's body. While Shani, Clotho and Orga stood there, grins on their faces and blood staining their weapons.

"What?!" the Exequias Leader shouted in shock. "You dare to kill members of the Exequias! The only punishment for such an action is death!"

"Get out of the way." Shani said. "Or else."

"Or else? You're kidding. We have the advantage. What could you three possibly do against all of us."

"Or else, you'll be a...FATALITY TOO!!" Clotho shouted at the Leader before launching his spherical breaker at him.

He sonidoed out of the way, but three of the Exequias behind him weren't so lucky. The heavy spiked ball tore through their bodies, killing them instantly.

"Kill them!" the Exequias Leader ordered.

Shani, Orga and Clotho chuckled at the advancing Exequias.

"Strike from the ground, bringing their end, Calamity!" Orga shouted as he drove the tips of his shields into the ground. (1)

"Soar in the skies above to annihilate them, Raider!" Clotho shouted as he spun his weapon over his head. (1)

"Arise from the depths and destroy them, Forbidden!" Shani shouted as he slammed the base of his scythe on the ground in front of him. (1)

Three explosions followed, pushing the Exequias back.

Orga was the first to reappear. His shields had lengthen considerably, almost reaching the floor, and had fused to his forearms. There was also a pair of gun barrels on each one. His arms and torso were now covered in matching blue armor with orange trim. On his chest was an orange skull-like design with his hollow hole sitting in between the eyes. He also had large, armored shoulder pads that extended far beyond his shoulders. On his back was an armored backpack-like hump with a pair long cannon barrels, resting just above his shoulder pads. His mask fragment was completely gone. It now was a plate covering his forehead and angeled upwards into a pair of spikes. (2)

Clotho's arms and torso, like Orga's, was covered in armor. But his was of a different style and was black with red trim. His feet had changed into bird claws. His spherical breaker remained in his right hand. On his back was a pair of folded armored wings. Like Orga, Clotho's mask fragment had completely changed and was now a pair of spikes extending from his forehead, at a perfect 45 degree angle with a pair of smaller spikes beneath them, at a 35 degree angle. (2)

Lastly, there was Shani, still holding his scythe. Like his comrades, his arms and body was covered in armor. His was a pale green and black, and lacked the long shoulders the others have. His mask was the same as Clotho's, minus the second, smaller spikes. The most noticeable feature was the large, dark green turtle shell-like object on his back. The area directly behind his head had a protrusion sticking upwards. On it was a second face, for a lack of a better term, that resembled a knight's helmet, consisting of a pair of slits for eyes and a matching horn spikes. Beneath the face, was a square, mouth-like opening. On the sides of the shell were a pair of large shields attached to the shell by small arm-like limbs. In the spaces between the shields and his arms, were a pair of black tentacles that almost reached his ankles. (2)

"Fools! You honestly think you can beat us. Very well then." the Exequias Leader said as he and the rest of the Exequias backed out of the narrow, cramped corridor and into a larger, empty room. Waiting.

Suddenly, three cero-like beams shot out through the doorway, obliterating several of the Exequias. Orga emerged, grinning like a maniac.

"Kill him." the Exequias Leader ordered.

Six Exequias silently drew their swords and charged the lone arrancar. Orga raised his arms, aiming the gun barrels on his shields at them and fired balas at them. Four of them managed to dodged the balas, the other two weren't so lucky. The balas tore through their bodies, killing them. The four remaining ones attacked, but Orga quickly blocked the blades with his shields. Orga pushed them back and sliced through them with the shields' razor sharp edges.

A second later, a section of the ground near the hallway exploded. Shani emerged, the shell that had been on his back was now resting on his shoulders, covering his head. Several Exequias opened fire with balas. Shani's shields moved in front of him and when the balas hit the shields, they were harmlessly defected away from him. Before the Exequias that attacked him could react, the shell on his head, moved shifted back onto his back as Shani lunged at them, slicing through them with his scythe like a bloody harvest, chuckling all the while.

Suddenly, there was an explosion on the ceiling. Clotho, his wings spread open, flew down through the hole and fired a cero from his mouth, killing three Exquias.

"Triple kill!" Clotho shouted in triumph before swinging his spherical breaker at more Exequias, killing and injuring more of them.

A group of Exequias flew up at him. Only for most of them to be destroyed by a pair beams. Which almost hit Clotho.

"Orga! You bastard! You almost hit me!" Clotho shouted at his comrade on the ground as he finished off the remaining airborne arrancar.

"Less complaining, more killing!" Orga shouted back.

Meanwhile, Shani fired a cero at a group of Exequias from the mouth opening on his shell. They dodged the beam but what they didn't expect was for cero to suddenly curve and hit them. "How is that possible?!" one of the Exequias shouted.

"How is what possible?" Shani asked as he cut that Exequias in two.

Shani fired a curving cero again. Killing more Exequias before it streaked towards Orga. Orga leapt out of the way of the beam.

"You're bugging me Shani!" Orga shouted before firing a trio energy shots from his cannons and his hollow hole at him.

Shani deflected the shots with his shields, causing them to hit nearby Exequias.

"You're terminated!" Clotho shouted as he swung his weapon at more Exequias.

The head of his weapon impaled the chest of one while the cable sliced through several others.

"Killtacular!" he shouted in joy at his growing number of kills.

Clotho pulled his weapon back, the body of the arrancar was still stuck to the head of the weapon. Clotho shrugged at the sight of the dead Exequias on his weapon. Two Exequias fired a barrage of balas at him. Clotho spun his spherical breaker in front of him, creating a shield against the balas and caused the body on the head of weapon to be torn apart by the g-forces. The second the Exequias let up their barrage, Clotho fired a cero at them, vaporizing them.

"Damn you. You're not arrancar. You're not even hollows. You're nothing but beasts. Savage, insane beasts." the Exequias Leader said as he watched the slaughter of his subordinates.

Just over half of the Exequias that he had brought were either dead or maimed.

"What'd yah say?" Orga asked as he destroy a few more Exequias with balas. "Didn't catch that."

"Monsters." he muttered.

The three of them laughed and continued attacking Exequias members.

Clotho launched his breaker at an Exequias, sending it and the arrancar into Shani, knocking him into the ground.

Shani growled as he got up and aimed his tentacles at Clotho and fired balas from them at him. Clotho flew out of the way of the balas. The balas flew pass him and hit several members of the Exequias.

"Knock it off Shani!" Clotho yelled while Shani smirked and laughed.

"That's enough!" the Leader shouted to the remaining Exequias. "Fall back!"

The surviving Exequias silently withdrew, some had to be carried away. The Exequias Leader, however, did not leave. He surveyed the room. The walls, floor and ceiling were stained with blood and scorch marks. Bodies and body parts littered the ground. It looked like a warzone.

"Aww...C'mon. We were having fun." Orga complained.

"You want fun? I'll deal with you three personally." he said as he drew his sword. "I won't even need to release my zanpaku-to destroy you."

The Leader sonidoed and attacked Shani. Shani blocked his sword attack with his shields, causing shallow cuts in his shields. The Leader sonidoed again, reappearing behind Shani and slashing his back. Shani fell forward onto one knee. The Leader raised his sword over Shani's shell covered head.

"Shani! You bastard!" Orga shouted before firing an trio of energy beams at the pair.

One of the beams hit Shani, he still had his shields in front of him, protecting him. The other two beams streaked towards the Exequias Leader. But he managed to sonido out of their paths before they could reach him.

The Leader fired a cero at Orga, who canceled it out with a cero of his own.

"Is that the best yah got?" Orga asked before firing barrage of balas at him.

The Leader leapt out of the path of the balas, only to be hit by Clotho's spherical breaker, knocking away from the balas and into the ground.

Shani, Orga and Clotho all started laughing. "Pathetic." Shani sneered.

"Told yah, you're gonna be fatality too!" Clotho shouted.

"You monsters think that I can be beaten that easily! I am the Leader of the Exequias! Beasts like you are nothin-"

Orga sonidoed and slashed the Leader of the Exequias with his shields, interrupting him.

"You talk too much." Orga commented.

"Damn you!"

Suddenly, Clotho's spherical breaker hit the left side of his head, destroying most of the left side of his mask.

"Bullseye!" Clotho shouted.

"How?! How can you monsters be this strong?!" the Exequias Leader said in disbelief and something he hadn't felt since he became an arrancar, fear.

Then Shani struck. Slicing his sword in two and cutting a deep gash in his chest.

"Why are you so weak?" Shani asked as the Leader fell to his knees.

"Damn you monsters! Do you actually believe that Aizen-sama will let you get away with this?!"

"Get away with what? You guys attacked us for no reason." Orga said. "And if the Exequias are this weak, than were doing the Big Boss a favor by getting rid of the weaklings."

All three of them simultaneously fired ceros at the Exequias Leader, completely obliterating him in an instant. They then resealed their zanpaku-tos. Shani slung his scythe over his right shoulder and put his headphones back on. Clotho clipped weapon back on to his belt, then pulled out his handheld video game and started playing. Orga strapped his shields back onto his back and reach into his pocket for his book.

The three quietly, aside from the occasional stray shout from Clotho, left chamber, kicking aside any bodies in their way. Insane, feral grins still spread across their lips.

* * *

Elsewhere

Aizen sighed as he felt the Exequias Leader die. He had felt him and most of the Exequias engage those three. He was surprised that the Exequias had been massacred that easily. He had clearly underestimated their power or overestimated the power of the Exequias or perhaps even both. An extremely, extremely rare mistake for him. Perhaps he shouldn't have locked those three up. Though by doing that and later allowing Tatsuki to permanently release them from their cells, he fixed that problem. It had guaranteed their loyalty to her and since she was completely loyal to him, they were completely loyal to him.

Then there was the question of who ordered them to arrest Shani, Orga and Clotho. It certainly wasn't him. Nor could it have been any of the Espada. Aside from Nnoitra and Ulquiorra, all of them were still in their domains or fighting the intruders. It was possible that it was Gin, playing one of his games, or Kaname, in an attempt to destroy the arrancar that reminded him the most of Kenpachi Zaraki. Or it could have been their creator, Scion, seeking to destroy his biggest failures. Failures that had cost him his position on the Espada.

Scion, former Second Espada and top scientist of Los Noches. He had promised him, that he create the ultimate shock troops for his army. With power near that of Espada-class arrancar and utterly devoted to him.

Unfortunately, when he had turned them into arrancar, they proved to be less than ideal. Aizen could more than tolerate their insanity and their tendencies to attack each other in the middle of combat. What he couldn't tolerate was that they had zero regard for other arrancar and frequently the other arrancar got caught in the crossfire of their attacks. And unless he gave them an enemy to fight, they tended not to obey his orders that well. So he locked them up, letting them out only when he could use their skills.

Perhaps, he'd have Szayel duplicate and try to improve on his former mentors work. If he wasn't trying already.

The doors to his chambers suddenly slammed open. It was Kaname.

"Aizen-sama." he said urgently. "The Exequias has been almost entirely wiped out by Arisawa's Fraccion."

"I know Kaname." he calmly said.

"Please Aizen-sama, allow me to bring justice to those beasts."

"That won't be necessary Kaname. The three of them managed to devastate the Exequias. Something that few non-Espada would be able to do. It would be a waste to dispose of them."

"But Aizen-sama-"

"No buts, Kaname." he interrupted. "To think that Scion branded them as failures simply because he couldn't control them. I think they'll be quite useful in the battles to come."

"Aizen-sama! They've devastated the Exequias! Killed their leader! You can not be serious about letting them live!"

"I am. They revealed to me just how weak the Exequias were. If they couldn't beat those three with their numbers than they are completely useless to me. But there is one thing you can do for me Kaname."

"Yes Aizen-sama?"

"Find out who ordered the Exequias to confront them and bring them to me."

* * *

Elsewhere

Arturo sat in chair in front of a dozen security monitors, in his hidden Domain. Things were proceeding better than he expected. Hisiki had successfully tricked the Exequias into believing that Aizen ordered them to arrest Tatsuki's Fraccion, which resulted in the unit almost being wiped out entirely. While she did that, he altered the security footage, leaving no trace of who gave the order to the Exequias.

With the Exequias gone, Aizen's control over the lesser arrancar had weakened and a possible threat to his future rebellion had been crushed.

But he couldn't congratulate himself yet. He still had much to do before he could even consider his rebellion ready to start. Fortunately, the intruders were providing an excellent distraction to Aizen and the Espada.

He glanced at some of the other monitors. Keigo was fighting one of the humans, Yasutora 'Chad' Sado, if his intelligence was correct. Tatsuki was fighting Grimmjow and Ichigo Kurosaki while Miss Orihime and a strange little arrancar. Arturo learned in closer to monitor. "It can't be..."

But it was.

He started laughing. "Well, I'll be damned! She's alive! And of all the people she meets, she meets Kurosaki and the others!"

"Who is it, Arturo-sama?" Hisiki, standing in the back of the room, asked.

"An old subordinate of mine. I thought Nnoitra killed her sometime ago." he said with a smirk. "Things are getting more interesting every minute."

He would need to have Miss Inoue restore her mask, which would permanently restore her to original state first. But that wouldn't be a problem.

He glanced at another monitor. Aaroniero's dead body was sprawled on the ground. Near him was the dying body of Rukia Kuchiki. He was surprised that she was still alive. But she was a Kuchiki, in name and spirit. Which meant that she was as stubborn as they come. Just like her older brother.

Arturo stood up and said, "I have some things I need to do. Remain here and inform me if anything important happens."

"Yes Arturo-sama."

* * *

(1) The release commands. Now these were tough for these three. I had a dozen or so single word commands for these guys, but they just didn't seem to fit. Than Shani's command entered my head and stayed there. After awhile, decided to use phrase commands instead. And any Gundam Seed fans will recognize that the names of their zanpaku-tos are the names of their mobile suits.

(2) The release forms. Again, I used their mobile suits as base of their release forms. Below are some links to the Gundam Wiki website that has pictures of said machines. This should give those of you who read this and know nothing of Gundam Seed, a better idea of what they look like. Just copy, paste, and delete the spaces.

Calamity: gundam.wikia .com/wiki/ Image:Gat-x131 .jpg

Raider: gundam.wikia .com/wiki/ Image:Gat-x252 .jpg

Forbidden (sadly it doesn't show the backpack that well, so you're on your own for that): gundam.wikia .com/wiki/ Image:Gat-x370 .jpg

I'm also toying with the idea of adding the second generation druggies from Gundam Seed Destiny but I'm not quite sure and would like some input on that. And this will be the last chapter of Hollowfication for awhile, so I can work on my other story ideas.

Review!


	20. Important Note!

Yo everybody. This isn't an update. Truth be told, as I've been writing my other stories and similar stories, I've become increasing dissatisfied with Hollowfication. It was my first story and has many flaws. So I'm planning to rewrite it. It'll pretty much be a total reworking of the story. And I will be leaving the original up. That's one thing that annoys me, when people do rewrites and delete the original. As there are times when I feel like rereading the original. Even it is terrible compared to the new version.

But there is one problem though. I have a couple of ways of doing Tatsuki's, Keigo's, and Mizuiro's personalities. But I'm not sure with one to do.

A) Pretty much the same as the original. They become evil, and bitter, angry and resentful of Ichigo and the others for basically abandoning them.

B) They lose all of their memories and become entirely new people, with different names, personalities, etc.

C) They don't evil or lose their memories, but are being forced to fight for Aizen though fear, intimidation and torture.

D) This last one I've only just thought of and haven't fully worked it out at the moment. Basically, it's a fusion of B and C. Where initially, they lose their memories but over the course several battles against Ichigo and the others, they being to remember who they were. But they're recaptured by Aizen and forced to continue fighting for him.

So tell me what you think. Also, any other suggestions are welcomed.

Finally to all the fans of Hollowfication, Thank you for your support.

The Rewrite is up! Check it out!


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